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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Gift That Abides 

( i John ii : 2j) 



A Setting Forth of Some Truths 

Disclosed by "the Anointing,' ' 

Which Have Special Bearing 

Upon the Deeper Phases of 

Religious Life and Light 



By Q. W. McCALLA 




PHILADELPHIA 
George W. McCalla 

N. W. Cor. 18th and Ridge Ave. 
1905 



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LIBRARY of JONGRESS] 

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Copyright, 1905, 
By George W. McCalla. 




PREFACE. 



The several chapters contained in this book, 
are not intended to set forth the orderly un- 
folding of any doctrine or theory. To use a 
figurative expression : They do not as a whole, 
represent a completed structure, from founda- 
tion to capstone, but may rather be comparable 
to a string of pearls, varied in hue and size, 
which have been gathered from time to time in 
the field of Truth, by one who has diligently 
sought (under the conscious guidance of the 
Spirit,) to follow on to know more and more 
of the blessing involved in the Master's assur- 
ance : "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth 
slmll make you free. 33 

They are sent forth in their present shape 
with a desire, that as the revelations of truth, 
thus recorded, have served to further and estab- 
lish the author in the pathway of spiritual Life 
and Light, so others through the perusal of his 
testimony, may be helped and made partakers 
of like precious truth and blessedness. 



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CONTENTS. 



Chapter. 



II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 



Page. 
The Baptism of the Spirit — How 

Received 5 

God Still Speaks 9 

Born of the Spirit 13 

Divine Guidance 17 

Concerning Inspiration 21 

The Spirit's Checks 25 

The Spirit-anointed Eye 30 

One Feature of It 33 

Praying in the Spirit 37 

The Wilderness State 41 

Spiritual Sense of the Word. ... 48 
The Daily Sacrifice Restored... 52 

Looking Unto Jesus 58 

The Gospel Message 61 

Prophet, Priest, and King 65 

The First-Born 70 

The Salvation of God 75 

God as Father and Mother 82 

The Two Eyes of the Soul 91 

How Christ Enters 98 

The Chastening of the Lord 101 

A Hidden Life 107 

Yea, Lord no 

The Hiding of His Face 112 

Teacher and Taught 115 

Faithful in Little Things 117 

An Ascending Scale 120 

Labor and Rest 123 



THH 

Gift That Abides 

( i John ii : 27 ) 



CHAPTER I. 

The Baptism of the Spirit — How Re- 
ceived. 

T^ HE Scriptures are the only safe and 
sure informant, if one would be 
properly instructed, as to how they may 
receive the Baptism of the Spirit. In- 
stead of seeking direction from some 
human teacher it would be much safer 
to consult the Scriptures, and there learn 
how the early disciples received the Bap- 
tism, and what were the conditions neces- 
sary as a preparation for its reception. 

If we turn to the Record, we shall find 
that they did not merely meet together, 
express their desire for the enduement, 
offer a prayer for the same, and then go 
out claiming that they had taken the 
promised enduement of power, by "a 
naked faith/' in the Master's promise. 
Nay, this is a way often followed in our 

5 



The Gift That Abides. 

day, by those who take the counsel of 
men, but search ever so carefully, you 
will not find in this way, the foot-prints 
of the disciples. 

It is true they followed a prescribed 
rule, but it was a very short and simple 
one. Here it is: "Tarry ye in the city 
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with 
power from on high." Waiting obed» 
ience, was the only requirement. Pas- 
sive concentration. Not activity, but rest 
from action. They waited! And the 
tarrying continued, until they were en- 
dued with the promised power. They did 
not claim or take It by faith alone, for // 
rather came, claimed, and took possession 
of them, than they of It. Through their 
obedient waiting, the words of Habakkuk 
were fulfilled, in their own experience: 
"At the end it shall speak, and not lie: 
though it tarry, wait for it: because it 
will surely come, it will not tarry." 

In response to the query: "But how 
shall one know that the Baptism of the 
Holy Spirit has been received?" We 
would ask : How did the disciples know ? 

6 



The Gift That Abides. 

How could any one help knowing, when 
such an enduement has really been re- 
ceived — when the Spirit of the Almighty 
has entered into them, and taken full 
posesssion ? 

In these days there is ofttimes a hurry- 
ing to get rich spiritually, and this undue 
haste, frequently leads one to lay hold of 
something which appears to be the heav- 
enly Gift, but turns out to be, but a 
gilded counterfeit, and not the true and 
abiding Anointing. The Spirit is the 
Divinely appointed Teacher, and when 
truly waited upon for instruction, will 
bring light out of darkness, order out of 
confusion. Even "a wayfaring man 
though a fool," can wait; and in waiting, 
he shall receive that Anointing which 
teacheth all things, and is no lie. ( I John 
2: 27.) 

If you would be a true helper of others, 
direct them to the one infallible Helper, 
even the Spirit of Truth, who is ever 
ready and waits to be both Wisdom and 
Power, unto all' who will forsake their 
own strength and knowledge — who are 

7 



The Gift That Abides. 

both ready and willing to wholly follow 
His instructions, and inward motions. 
"Thy people shall be willing in the day 
of Thy power." 

To those longing for the anointing of 
the Spirit, we would say: "Wait on the 
Lord; be of good courage, and He shall 
strengthen thine heart : wait, I say, on the 
Lord." 



8 



CHAPTER II. 
God Still Speaks. 

T^HE unchangeableness of Jehovah, 
is plainly declared in Scripture, 
"I am the Lord, I change not." Be- 
lieving that there "is no variableness, 
neither shadow of turning" with "the 
Ancient of days;" and then, observing 
the almost universal, present-day ex- 
perience and teaching, of those who 
profess to be believers in, and worship- 
pers of Him, of whom it is written: 
"God doth talk with man;" the query 
may well be asked: "Where is the 
Lord God of Elijah?" Where is He 
that Moses spake of, saying: "The God 
of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, 
appeared unto me, saying?" Where 
is the God who appears unto His peo- 
ple, and speaks to them "face to face?" 

9 



The Gift That Abides. 

Speechlessness is a characteristic of 
those gods which are "the work of 
men's hands. They have mouths, but 
they speak not." But "He of whom 
Moses in the Law, and the Prophets 
did write," is a God whose voice they 
had heard speaking to them. 

But where now, is this God who at 
one time talked with man? Hath He 
ceased to utter His Voice ? Hath a de- 
cree gone forth, that He can only be 
heard now, through the reading of the 
Scriptures? Did He speak direct to 
holy men of old, and will He speak 
only at second-hand to us? Did He 
reveal His will to them by "a Voice," 
and will He reveal it to us only in a 
Book ? Nay. A voiceless God, must be 
"the work of men's hands." He may 
be the God set forth by the doctrines 
and traditions of the scribes and elders ; 
but he is not "the Gpd of Abraham, 
of Isaac, and of Jacob," for their God, 
is "the same yesterday, and to-day, 
and forever." If God ever spoke to 
men, He still speaks to men. If He 

10 



The Gift That Abides. 

did not intend to speak, He would not 
have said: "Hearken unto Me." How 
many to-day are guilty of that which 
our Lord condemned in Scribes and 
Pharisees, when He said : "In vain do 
they worship Me, teaching for doc- 
trines the commandments of men. For 
laying aside the commandments of 
God, ye hold the traditions of men." 

"And one shall say unto Him, What 
are these wounds in Thine hands ? Then 
He shall answer: Those with which I 
was wounded in the house of My 
friends." The cause of Christianity is 
sadly crippled to-day, because the pro- 
fessed Church of Christ, are blindly 
following traditions, and know not the 
inspeaking Voice of God, Such an ex- 
perience as this: "Out of heaven He 
made thee to hear His voice, that He 
might instruct thee," they know not. 
Although claiming to be His sheep, 
they never consciously hear His voice. 
All of their serving is in "the oldness 
of the Letter," "the newness of the 
Spirit," they know nothing at all about. 

ii 



The Gift That Abides. 

That the Scriptures are to be highly 
prized and revered, we are convinced; 
for they are "profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
tion in righteousness. " But sadly mis- 
taken and in the dark is he, who makes 
a God of his Bible, or takes the Bible 
instead of the Divine Spirit, as his 
Teacher, and Guide into Truth. One 
may read much in the Bible, and yet 
understand nothing of the Spirit, but 
whosoever walketh after the Spirit, 
unto him shall the Bible be opened. 

Our mission is to stir men up to a 
condition where they shall hearken 
for the Voice of Him who now speaks 
from heaven. No human language 
can ever convey the full import of that 
"which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 
Oh ! that every one would learn to wait 
until they hear His Voice and then 
obey it at any sacrifice. "O that thou 
hadst hearkened to My command- 
ments ! then had thy peace been as a 
river and thy righteousness as the 
waves of the sea." 

12 



w 



CHAPTER III. 
Born of the Spirit 

HEN Jesus was on earth, for a 
man to speak of God as his 
Father, was equivalent to declaring that 
he himself was Divine (John x 129-36) . 
When Jesus called God his Father, this 
claim of relationship was to the Jews 
who heard it an assertion that he him- 
self was "a god ;" for they reasoned that, 
"like must beget like/' that to be a child 
of God, involved a partaking of the Di- 
vine Nature. Jesus made no attempt to 
refute the logic of their reasoning, but 
answered it by simply calling their at- 
tention to that which was written in 
their own Law, where those "unto whom 
the Word of God came," are called 
"gods" by Him who sends the Word, 
that is, the Father himself. His object 

13 



The Gift That Abides. 

in so doing" was, evidently, to prove to 
them, by their own Law, that, in his 
claiming to be a son of God, he had not 
gone beyond that which the Scriptures 
allow, but in reality had claimed less 
than he had Scriptural warrant for. 

In view of what has already been 
said: What is the condition that will 
allow us the right to call God our Father, 
and enable us at the same time to rea- 
lize all that such a relationship implies? 
It must plainly be seen that a new- 
birth is requisite, and that God must be 
the Begetter of it. That if God begets 
it, then it is conceived of the Holy Ghost, 
and being Divine in its origin, it must 
be Divine in its nature. Hence, "that 
holy thing" when it has been conceived, 
and brought forth in us, shall be "Em- 
manuel," or, God with us. 

The Doctrine of the New-Birth, as it 
is set forth in the New Testament, clear- 
ly informs us, that those who are the 
subjects of it, partake of the Divine Na- 
ture, and hence in their measure, are 
Divine, or, like God; for, "whosoever is 

14 



The Gift That Abides. 

born of God doth not commit sin: for 
his Seed remaineth in him: and he can- 
not sin 5 because he is born of God, in 
this the children of God are manifest, 
and the children of the devil." He that 
through this new-birth "is joined to the 
Lord, is one spirit," and will experience 
what Jesus meant when he said: "I and 
my Father are one." 

To be a Son of God, then, is to be 
created anew, in the image and likeness 
of God; for, "he that is born of the 
Spirit, is spirit," and "if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of 
his." The "partakers of the Divine Na- 
ture," have "escaped the corruption that 
is in the world through lust," and in 
singleness of eye and heart, they walk 
before men "in righteousness and true 
holiness," anji the same life that Jesus 
lived, is made manifest in their mortal 
flesh. Therefore, those who see them, 
see the Father also, for the Father who 
abides in them, is the doer of the works 
that men see them perform, for a true 
Son of God can do nothing of himself 

15 



The Gift That Abides. 

but only acts as the Father worketh in 
him, both to will, and to do. 

If the testimony we have given, con- 
cerning what it means to be "Born of 
the Spirit/' seems to set the experience 
on a very high plane, we can only say : 
The Standard is God's, not ours. If like 
the Bereans of old, you search the Scrip- 
tures to see whether the things we have 
said are true, you will find they fully 
confirm all that we have said on the 
subject. 



16 



|ipppppppppppp|i|l!|li 



CHAPTER IV. 

Divine Guidance. 

HP HERE has been, and still is, much 
preaching and exhortation con- 
cerning our abandonment to the Holy- 
Spirit for teaching and guidance; but 
the experience of being guided by the 
Spirit in "all things that pertain unto 
life and godliness/' seems, from all ac- 
counts, to be a possession, very rarely 
known. Indeed, some who can talk 
most eloquently on the subject to 
others, have but little personal experi- 
ence on this line, and are ofttimes ready 
to cast reflections on any one who 
claims to be practicing what they them- 
selves have preached. The doctrine 
seems to be set forth more as a theory 
than for practice, for these teachers 
have so many cautions to suggest and 

17 



The Gift That Abides. 

danger signals to hang out, that by the 
time they have gone through with the 
enumeration of these, the effect that 
the first part of their exhortation has 
had in convincing the hearer of the 
blessed privilege of being guided by the 
Spirit has been neutralized, and the 
same condition called forth in regard 
to the Holy Ghost that is produced in 
little children's minds by telling them 
about ghosts and hobgoblins. That 
numbers who have been led into the 
wildest fanaticism and unlawful prac- 
tices have claimed to be guided by the 
Spirit, we well know, but shall the per- 
version or mistakes of these misguided 
ones scare any truly honest soul away 
from this most blessed privilege of the 
present dispensation? "God forbid: 
yea, let God be true, but every man a 
liar." If every one we have ever 
known, or heard of, who* claimed to be 
led by the Spirit have apparently gone 
wrong, the lie was in them, and not in 
Him who hath said concerning the cer- 
titude and safety of His guidance: 

18 



The Gift That Abides. 

"The sheep follow Him : for they know 
His voice. And a stranger they will 
not follow." There can be no hearing 
of His Voice, unless there be a follow- 
ing in His steps, and whosoever follow- 
eth Him "shall not walk in darkness, 
but shall have the light of life." To 
follow in His steps, is to be "always 
bearing about in the body the dying of 
Lord Jesus," this means utter death to 
own-will that the will of our Father 
in heaven may alone be done. Stand 
ever in that love which "seeketh not 
its own" in anything and you shall 
stand where the Voice is heard which 
saith : "This is the way, walk ye in it, 
when ye turn to the right hand, and 
when ye turn to the left." After years 
of personal abandonment to the guid- 
ance of the Spirit, refusing to take any 
step in "the Life," unless we had the 
Spirit's call, and holding in no wise 
back when the Divine call has been to 
"go forward;" we testify to the fact 
that we cannot recall a single instance 
during all these years in which "the 

19 



The Gift That Abides. 

leading" after being followed has 
proven to have been not of Him. It 
is true we have frequently heard the 
voice of "the Stranger" calling; but 
of the sheep it has been declared by 
Him who is the Truth, "a stranger 
they will not follow." We have found 
it so. We are told in Scripture to "Try 
the spirits," and this is very needful, 
but it is of far greater importance that 
you try your own spirit that you may 
know what manner of spirit you are of, 
for your ability to try other spirits will 
be guaged by the purity of your own. 
We will add in conclusion that we have 
never laid ourself open to follow any 
leading that might call for the disre- 
gard or violation of moral, domestic, or 
marital obligations. Any one who has 
nothing better than the sense he was 
born with ought to know that what 
God condemns in sinners He never 
leads saints to practice. Let us bear 
this in mind : "If we would judge our- 
selves, we should not be judged." 



20 



M 



CHAPTER V. 

Concerning Inspiration. 

ANY are ready and eager to con- 
tend with voice and pen against 
any one, who may venture to express a 
doubt, concerning the inspiration of any 
portion of the Bible; and they express 
their faith in the verbal inspiration of 
the Book (as it now stands), in words 
which evidence uncommon zeal and loy- 
alty. But where are those to be found, 
who are ready to contend for the "faith 
once delivered to the saints?" Whose 
faith stood in the power of God, and not 
in the wisdom of men. Whose knowl- 
edge of the will of God, concerning 
them, and their understanding of His 
truth, were not dependent upon that 
which they read in print through the use 
of their outward organ of sight, or that 

21 



The Gift That Abides. 

which might be heard with the natural 
ear; but whose inward eyes and ears, 
were open. Who saw and heard in their 
own spirits, the revelation and voice of 
the Holy Spirit. To whom the words of 
Isaiah : "Thine ears shall hear a word 
behind thee, saying : This is the way walk 
ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, 
and when ye turn to the left," were an 
actual, and constant experience, in their 
every day life. Who always walked "as 
seeing Him who is invisible" (to the out- 
ward eye) ; for, being pure in heart, they 
were blessed with an inward revelation 
of Him who alone, is the Light and 
Life of men. These, had "the epistle of 
Christ . . . written not with ink, 
but with the Spirit of the living God : 
not in tables of stone, but in -fleshy tables 
of the heart" Where we ask, are those 
ready to contend for this immediate, 
personal inspiration of the Holy Spirit? 
Who are not only ready to affirm their 
belief that "in old time," when the books 
of the Bible were written, "holy men of 

God spake as they were moved by the 

22 



The Gift That Abides. 

Holy Ghost/' but as ready to affirm that 
the inspiration of that self-same Holy 
Spirit, may be, and is, known by holy 
men and women to-day, as surely and 
infallibly, as ever "holy men of old" 
knew His inward movings. Surely, from 
all appearances, there is but a remnant 
left, who stand ready, to contend for this 
faith in the present possibility, of receiv- 
ing by inward, and direct inspiration of 
the Holy Spirit, as safe, and infallible, 
teaching and guidance, as anything de- 
clared by "holy men of God" "in old 
time" can be. 

If in any age of the world it was 
safe for "holy men" to rely implicitly and 
entirely upon the Holy Spirit, for teach- 
ing and utterance, it is safe in all ages, to 
so rely. But if the declaration of Jesus 
himself: "When he the Spirit of truth, 
is come, he will guide you into all truth," 
is not a safe promise to accept at its full 
face value, then no other utterance of 
His can be unquestionably received. But 
that His promise means all that it im- 
plies, we can testify, because we became 

23 



The Gift That Abides. 

obedient to oitr Master's instructions, 
wherein He said: "Wait for the promise 
of the Father/' which, saith He, *'ye have 
heard of me." So we tarried, in the at- 
titude of earnest desire and expectancy, 
and the anointing came, it teacheth all 
things, leadeth into all truth, is "no lie," 
and abides. 



24 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Spirit's Checks. 

T N Acts xvi : 7, we read that Paul and 
Silas "assayed to go into Bithynia," 
but "the Spirit suffered them not." It 
is hardly needful to say, that every one 
who truly knows anything experimentally 
concerning Divine guidance, is more or 
less acquainted with what it means to be 
inwardly restrained at times, from doing 
certain things, which they otherwise 
would feel perfectly free to perform. For 
the prohibitings of the Spirit either to do, 
say, or go, are of frequent occurrence, 
in the lives of all who walk, not after 
the flesh; but after the Spirit. These 
checks, or restrainings of the Spirit are 
entirely different in nature and accom- 
panying sensations from an inspiration to 
do, say, or go. Since in the latter case, 

25 



The Gift That Abides. 

one may be able more or less clearly, to 
see the why and wherefore, and have in 
connection with the inward inspiration 
the voices of Scripture, providential cir- 
cumstances, and the conviction of our 
own judgment, as confirming witnesses. 
But in experiencing these checks of the 
Spirit against doing, saying, or going; 
one cannot as a rule (on the instant at 
least), discern any reason for the check, 
either to their own enlightenment, or to 
serve as an explanation when a refusal 
must be given, or a nay said, to another 
person. All the checked one knows is, 
that the Spirit suffers them not. This is 
enough for their satisfaction, although 
it may not always satisfy those who are 
affected by their refusal to do, say, or 
go, to their disappointment. 

Perhaps, it will be well right here to 
say, that individuals who are naturally 
lacking in self-confidence, or unduly 
modest, doubtful or distrustful of their 
ability, or bashful, shy, extremely cau- 
tious, inclined to silence, or who prefer 
retirement rather than publicity, will 

26 



The Gift That Abides. 

need to be specially guarded in regard to 
the feeling of "checks;" such will need 
above those of contrary temperament, to 
examine themselves, and "try the spirits/' 
less they credit that with being a re- 
straining of the Holy Spirit, which is 
wholly due to the action of their own 
spirit, following its natural trend or 
bias. With such a temperament, the 
checkings of nature, are ofttimes felt, 
when the Holy Spirit is calling for the 
performance of some active service. 
The wise injunction: "Man know thy- 
self/' is needful to be put into practice, 
for we not only need to be enlightened 
lest Satan should get an advantage over 
us, through our ignorance of his devices 
(2 Cor. 2: 11), but also to know the 
working and devisings of our own subtle 
nature. If a man know not his finite 
nature and its workings, how can he 
ever expect to know and distinguish the 
nature and workings of the Infinite, in 
distinction therefrom. The Lord's way 
with us, was to teach us to know our 

own spirit, and as we grew in this knowl- 

27 



The Gift That Abides. 

edge and discernment of our self, and 
our human spirit, we found ourself in- 
creasing in the ability to know and dis- 
cern Himself, and his Holy Spirit's 
workings. 

The following extracts, telling of ex- 
perience along this line of feeling inward 
checks, have lately fallen into our hand. 
"Socrates was accustomed all his life, 
to hear what he called a divine voice, or 
preternatural sign, which came to him 
solely as a prohibition or warning, and 
never as an instigation to act." "I do 
not pretend/' says R. W. Emerson, "to 
any commandment or large revelation. 
But if at any time I form a plan, propose 
a journey, or a course of conduct, I find, 
perhaps, a silent obstacle in my mind that 
I cannot account for. Very well ; I let it 
lie, thinking it may pass away ; if it does 
not pass away, I yield to it, obey it. You 
ask me to describe it. I cannot describe 
it. It is not an oracle, not an angel, not 
a dream, not a law ; it is too simple to be 
described! it is but a grain of mustard 
seed. But such as it is, it is something 

28 



The Gift That Abides. 

which the contradiction of all mankind 
could not shake/' 

It is our privilege to testify that for 
many years we have known what- it 
means (as we have endeavored to walk 
in the Spirit), to experience the checks 
or restrainings before alluded to, and 
can truly say that we cannot recall a 
single instance, in which our obedience 
thereto has been in any sense a cause 
for regret. But if for any reason, no 
matter how high or pure our motive, we 
have acted contrary to the check, we have 
always had cause for regret, and by 
the things we suffered, were brought to 
render a more perfect obedience unto 
such checks, in after experience. 



29 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Spirit-anointed Eye. 

HP HE Spirit anointed eye discovers 
that, which is invisible to the 
natural organs of perception. "The 
mountain was full of horses and char- 
iots of fire round about Elisha," at the 
\ery moment his spiritually-blind ser- 
vant was crying, "Alas, my master! 
how shall we do?" Not until Elisha 
had cried, "Lord I pray thee, open his 
eyes that he may see/' did he behold 
the "horses and chariots, ,, which un- 
til then, had been unto him as though 
they were not. Those who were en- 
gaged in stoning Stephen, saw only a 
man dying at their hands, but the 
eyes of the sufferer, through the Spir- 
it's anointing, penetrated the clouds 
of sense, and in the very hour of death, 

30 



The Gift That Abides. 

were looking upon Him who was al- 
ready, his resurrection and life. Of the 
Lord's anointed it shall ever be said, 
they "endured as seeing Him who is 
invisible/' 

All whose eyes have been spiritually 
opened, are enabled to "judge the 
righteous judgment/' for they see not 
only the outward of persons and things, 
but possessing a measure of that "One 
Spirit," which searches all things, and 
unto whom nothing is hid; they are 
given to see the internal state and con- 
dition of others. Often are the Seers, 
brought to "weep between the porch 
and the altar," because of their dis- 
cernment of the internal condition of 
those, who while outwardly, holding 
high religious positions, in which they 
are looked up to as marvels of sanctity, 
are inwardly, if not outwardly, fallen 
from the path of moral rectitude. 

"He that is spiritual discerneth all 
things, yet he himself is discerned of 
no man." The true Seers of to-day, 
are "despised and rejected of men," 

3i 



The Gift That Abides. 

while the false prophets are trusted 
and followed. History continues to re- 
peat itself; for whenever the multitude 
are called upon to decide between the 
Lord's anointed and a robber, they 
ever choose Barabbas ; for all who have 
not entered into the Priesthood, 
through the conception and birth of 
Christ within, have not entered by the 
One Door, but are thieves and robbers, 
and must ever prove to be "blind lead- 
ers of the blind/' wherever accepted 
and followed. Fortunate indeed are 
the disciples of such, if they end not in 
a ditch. True Seers are never man- 
pleasers, for they declare, the whole 
counsel of God, in the very words 
which the Holy Ghost teacheth, and by 
the fruits of holiness, in their personal 
every-day life, both at home and 
a broad, are they to be recognized and 
known. 



32 



iippppppppppppi|ii|ii| 

^i^iiifiSiiisii^iisiiisiiisiiisiiiesii^ii^iisiiiesiiisii^ 



K o -c 



^.^£t#««c:i 



CHAPTER VIII. 

One Feature of It. 

T~* HE Baptism of the Spirit which fell 
upon primitive believers, was of an 
all-inclusive, penetrating nature. It search- 
ed out, and left its hallowingimpress upon 
every faculty and possession. It not only 
touched and loosened their organ of 
speech, and enabled them to witness 
boldly with their lips, but it kept upon its 
sacred mission of writing "holiness unto 
the Lord," upon whatsoever belonged to 
its subject, until it reached even unto 
their love of money and worldly posses- 
sions; and as a result of its sanctifying, 
and relaxing influence upon their organ 
of benevolence, they found themselves 
as ready to obey the call of God, in the 
offering of their worldly substance — 
money and property — as they were to 

33 



The Gift That Abides. 

offer the fruit of their lips. For we read, 
that after they had experienced this Bap- 
tism, "neither said any of them that aught 
of the things which he possessed was his 
own; but they had all things common.' , 
"Neither was there any among them that 
lacked: for as many as were possessors 
of lands or houses sold them, and brought 
the prices of the things that were sold, 
and laid them down at the apostles' feet, 
and distribution was made unto every 
man according as he had need." 

Surely it is no wonder, that after so 
conclusive evidence of entire consecra- 
tion to the will and service of God, it is 
on record, that "with great power gave 
the apostles witness" and "great grace 
was upon them all." And this, ("he 
that had gathered much had nothing 
over ; and he that had gathered little had 
no lack,") continued to be a marked 
feature, in the experience of all who 
came under the sanctifying influence of 
the Holy Spirit; for, Justin Martyr de- 
clares in his "Apology," "We who be- 
fore we were become Christians, loved 

34 



The Gift That Abides. 

our wealth and possessions above all 
things, now give up all propriety in them, 
that they may be in common for all that 
want them." 

It is one thing to sing with the lips, 
"Take my silver and my gold, 
Not a mite would I withhold," 
but quite another matter, to deal out with 
the hands; and do it, ungrudgingly. 
Thousands, who appear always ready to 
answer in the affirmative, to those tests 
concerning an experience of entire conse- 
cration, so frequently put by teachers of 
the "Higher Christian Life," we fear 
would be unable to say: "Yea, let Him 
take all/' if the "all" spoken of, was 
known to have reference to either their 
money or property. 

If this willingness to offer so freely 
of their worldly means and substance 
was the result of their being baptised 
with the Holy Spirit, surely we have good 
reason to question our ability to answer 
the query, "Have ye received the Holy 
Ghost since ye believed?" in the affirm- 
ative, if we are not, in a measure at least, 

35 



The Gift That Abides. 

as "ready to distribute, willing to com- 
municate," of our earthly possessions, as 
these first Christians were. For "whoso 
hath this world's good, and seeth his 
brother have need, and shutteth up his 
bowels of compassion from him, how 
dwelleth the love of God in him?" 



36 



CHAPTER IX. 

Praying in the Spirit. 

A S we "follow on to know" the Lord, 
there is sooner or later a realiza- 
tion of what the Apostle meant when he 
wrote: "We know not what we should 
pray for as we ought." At first, this 
conviction will beget bewilderment and 
confusion of mind, for hitherto, we have 
asked whatsoever we wanted done. But 
this confusion will come to an end, when 
we fully accept and rest in the promise : 
"The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and 
maketh intercession for us," for we will 
then join with one of old in saying: 
"Lord, teach us to pray," and He who 
is the same, "yesterday, to-day and for- 
ever," will as surely teach us now as He 
taught those first disciples the way of 
true prayer. But He teacheth His way, 
only to those who turn from their own. 

37 



The Gift That Abides. 

When we obtain Divine light upon 
this subject we shall see that most of our 
prayers have remained unanswered, be- 
cause we have "asked amiss that we 
might consume it upon our desires." 
Like the mother of Zebedee's children, 
we have asked high favors, and' lofty 
positions, when we were wholly unpre- 
pared to meet all that lay between the 
asking and the receiving of the things 
asked for. We have sought the glory 
only. Our self-blinded vision has pre- 
vented us from seeing the cup of bitter- 
ness, to be emptied, and the test- 
ings to be passed through before we 
could reach the thing desired, or have it 
reach us. We have endeavored {un- 
consciously it may be), to get into our 
inheritance by an easier way than "the 
way of the cross" by some other gate 
and way than the gate that is strait, 
and the way which is narrow. Hence, 
our pathway has been so* marked with 
failures. 

Jesus, by whom we have "access unto 
God/' and who has "left us an example 

38 



The Gift That Abides. 

that we should follow in His steps," was 
"put to death in the flesh that He might 
be quickened in the spirit" and only as 
we are "crucified together with him" — 
"planted in the likeness of His death," 
can we be raised w T ith Him "unto new- 
ness of life," and become partakers of 
His glory. 

To be entirely abandoned to the Di- 
vine Will; to be prepared to say at all 
times and under all circumstances: "I 
delight to do thy will, O God," means 
far more than many seem to apprehend. 
But only those who love the will of God, 
better than their own, know in its ful- 
ness what it means to "pray in the Holy 
Ghost;" for such will only petition for 
those things that are pleasing in God's 
sight, and when they pray they know 
that they have the thing desired of 
Him. The ascending breath which car- 
ries their desires unto* Him who sitteth 
on the throne of Grace is but the out- 
breathing of that Holy Spirit, whose 
inbreathing awakened a desire for the 
thing asked for. 

39 



The Gift That Abides. 

When the I, My, Me, Mine, have been 
judged and put to death; when all that 
has made God's house (these bodies of 
ours), "a house of merchandise and den 
of thieves/' has been scourged with 
Christ's "whip of small cords and driven 
out ;" when the new and unselfish spirit, 
"Thy and Thine," has gained possession 
of our entire being; then will our ask- 
ing be only to this end : That the Father 
may be glorified in His child. May we 
learn the secret of true and effectual 
prayer, and be enriched thereby. 



40 



CHAPTER X. 

The Wilderness State. 

HP HE Scriptures teach us that our 
God, is a jealous God; that He 
hath chosen the godly for himself, and 
is displeased if they divide their affec- 
tions upon other things. "The Spirit 
that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy," or 
enviously desires to have an undivided 
heart. Much that the Lord would com- 
municate; must needs be withheld, so 
long as the heart is not perfect towards 
him. 

One means taken to wean the soul's 
affections from other loves, is express- 
ed in these words: "I will allure her, 
and bring her into the wilderness, and 
speak comfortably unto her." The rea- 
son for this is given: "She went after 
other lovers, and forgat me." 

This wilderness state must needs be 
4i 



The Gift That Abides. 

passed through by all, ere they can 
reach "the stature of the fulness of 
Christ." The duration of it, will in great 
measure depend upon the tenacity of 
our love in its clinging to other things. 
When we release our hold on all else, 
and can unreservedly say: "Whom have 
I in heaven but Thee? and there is none 
upon earth that I desire beside Thee;" 
then, will we be prepared, to come up 
out of the wilderness, leaning only on 
the One we love, for all other means of 
spiritual support and consoliation will* 
then have been utterly discarded. 

As with the Master, so with the dis- 
ciple. This experience comes after the 
Baptism of the Spirit. The purpose is 
not to* draw the soul's affections away 
from the world, or the things of the 
world, for the class of believers we are 
referring to, have already forsaken the 
world and the pleasures thereof, and 
delight only in the things of God. It 
is to bring the soul off from its depend- 
ence, and tendency to rest in, the gifts 
and favors of God, and lead it to find 

42 



The Gift That Abides. 

all its satisfaction in Him alone. In 
this experience the soul will be plunged 
without warning, from the Mount of 
illumination and conscious enjoyment of 
things spiritual, into an Abyss of ob- 
scurity and separation from all sensible 
pleasure, in the things formerly enjoyed. 
It does, indeed, seem to> the soul, as if it 
has been allured or entrapped, for it 
comes into this condition so unexpected- 
ly. Confident of being led by the Spirit, 
and from glory to glory, it looks for- 
ward in the expectation of further glory 
yet to come. When lo! as if by some 
magical transformation, all its glory has 
fled, and its only conscious possessions, 
are barrenness and vacuity. Fearing 
that this has been brought upon it, by 
some unconscious act of disobedience or 
omission of duty, it turns to its former 
sources of spiritual comfort and service, 
in the hope that greater devotion in 
these directions, will restore its lost 
treasures. But it is doomed to meet 
with disappointment. The Bible is op- 
ened, but that which once truly seemed 

43 



The Gift That Abides. 

to be full of blessing and light in former 
times, now seems dull and affords no 
comfort. It turns to prayer, through 
which it so often found grace to help 
in times of need, but it seems to have 
lost the faculty for prayer — it cannot 
voice itself either inwardly or outward- 
ly. It turns to fellow believers, with 
whom it once took sweet counsel, but 
they afford it no relief; association with 
them only intensifies the sense of inward 
desolation. If engagement in religious 
service or labor be thought of, the soul 
is painfully conscious that freedom of 
utterance, and clear apprehension of 
Truth, are both absent. Thus, one 
means after another is resorted to in 
the hope of regaining the joys and com- 
forts of His salvation, but all are of no 
avail. 

We will not enlarge on the details of 
this inward wilderness state, there will 
be phases of it peculiar to each individ- 
ual soul. We write to warn of the dan- 
ger that lies in any attempt to take ouf 
case out the Lord's hands, at this pe- 

44 



The Gift That Abides. 

culiar crisis in the soul's experience, for 
this wilderness stage is a most critical 
period. Great issues are dependent upon 
the outcome of this. The victory which 
Jesus gained in his wilderness exper- 
ience, was of incalculable value to him, 
the remainder of his earthly career. He 
gained the victory, not by a withdrawal 
from the test, but by pressing on 
through it. 

It is natural for an uninstructed soul, 
to be tempted with the fear that it has 
been misled, or that something is wrong 
internally, when it finds itself in this 
wilderness state, and if "blind guides" 
are resorted to for advice, they will 
urge it to take immediate steps to get 
out of this unenjoyable position, argu- 
ing with many quotations from the 
Scriptures, that religion is intended to 
make its possessors happy, that any 
other frame of mind is contrary to it, 
and not to be tolerated. If this advice 
be taken, the soul may get out of the 
wilderness, but it will get out on the 
wrong side, and by so doing, "frustrate 

45 



The Gift That Abides. 

the grace of God," and fail of reaching 
the prize set before it. "Man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
God." There will come a time when 
each soul must learn that its rest must 
henceforth be in God alone, and not in, 
what it has called its "means of grace." 
That it must enter into such living com- 
munion with God Himself, that all of 
its support and comfort shall be de- 
rived, from that which His own Voice 
utters within its own spirit. 

There is great danger of allowing the 
gifts and favors of God, a place in our 
affections, that direct and personal love 
for God, should occupy. The Bible, 
prayer, religious service, communion of 
saints, and various other blessings may 
be more thought of, and depended upon, 
than God himself. To bring the soul's 
affections off from these other objects, 
and unto Himself, He allures it into an 
experience, where these means of grace 
no longer afford it any comfort or sat- 
isfaction. 

46 



The Gift That Abides. 

If any reader is in the state mention- 
ed, our advice is : "Hold fast your con- 
fidence/' and "Wait patiently for Him," 
If you will only leave yourself in His 
hands, you shall in His appointed time 
and way be brought out, and His prom- 
ise be faithfully fulfilled: "I will give 
her vineyards from thence, and the val- 
ley of Achor for a door of hope: and she 
shall sing there as in the days of her 
youth, and as in the day when she came 
up out of Egypt." 



47 



CHAPTER XL 



Spiritual Sense of the Word. 

r T* HOSE who teach that Scripture has 
an internal or spiritual sense, 
which in comparison to the external or 
literal sense, holds the same relation, 
that the spirit of man does to his out- 
ward body, are not infrequently charged 
(by those who hold rigidly to the letter 
alone), with spiritualizing away the real 
and only true sense, and offering in its 
stead the vaporings of their own fancy 
and imaginings. But if the views of 
these extreme literalists were true, then 
to understand the Bible would depend 
wholly upon man's natural abilities, and 
the unregenerate if their natural ac- 
quirements were equal to the regener- 
ate, could have as thorough and reliable 
an understanding of its teachings as the 

48 



The Gift That Abides. 

latter; but according" to Jesus' own 
words, those who had been given his 
teaching in literal words, would not be 
able to know the depth of meaning con- 
tained therein, until they received the 
Spirit of Truth, whose reception was 
an absolute necessity, if they would be 
led unto the apprehension of all the 
Truth his spoken words contained. An 
opposition to the spiritual sense, may 
ofttimes spring from that spirit of pride 
in man, which is averse to acknowledg- 
ing his dependence upon aught outside 
of his own gifted (?) intellect, for his 
needed enlightenment; whereas those 
who (on right grounds) believe in a 
spiritual sense, know that only the Spir- 
it who inspired the Word, holds the key 
that will open the same, and are ever 
ready, if the query be put concerning 
the Bible : "Understandeth thou what 
thou readest ?" to reply : "Only so far, as 
the Spirit opens it to me, for I know 
that as the heavens are high above the 
earth, so are God's thoughts, higher 
than my thoughts/' 

49 



The Gift That Abides. 

One thing is sure, that if "every 
Scripture inspired of God is also profit- 
able for teaching*, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction which is in right- 
eousness ; that the man of God may be 
complete; furnished completely unto ev- 
ery good work (R. V.) ;" and the Bible 
is. so inspired, then, all of its teaching, 
has reference to man's life — his life of 
internal relationship to God, and the ex- 
ternal manifestation of the same, in his 
intercourse with his fellows ; and should 
be interpreted with this end in view, 
and ever will be, when the Spirit of God 
is the source, from which the interpre- 
tation springs. The spiritualizing of the 
Bible with any other end in view, than 
the perfecting of man in the Divine 
image and likeness, may well be called 
in question as fanciful, and most dan- 
gerous. 

It is, as before stated, because the 
Scriptures have this deeper meaning, 
that man cannot without the Spirit's aid 
understand them. If the words found 
therein always meant simply, and only 

50 



The Gift That Abides. 

what they said literally, like any ordinary 
book, then the aid of the Spirit would 
not be a necessity. It is that which lieth 
within the veil of the letter that makes 
the Bible so entirely different from any 
other book. And it is the special office 
work of the Spirit as teacher, to unfold 
its hidden treasures. 



Si 






CHAPTER XII. 

The Daily Sacrifice Restored. 

TJ OW few (of the many who claim 
to be entirely consecrated unto the 
Lord), seem to know anything by ex- 
perience, of what it really means to be 
"always bearing about in the body, the 
dying of the Lord Jesus." The great 
majority seem to see only the joy and 
triumph side of the life of faith; and 
talk and act as though there was no 
other side to it. But such have surely, 
overlooked the plain teaching of Scrip- 
ture, for it clearly declares, that "the 
r^ew man/' created in the image and 
likeness of God, is called to become a 
partner in filling up that which is behind 
of the afflictions of Christ, for His 
body's sake, which is the church (Col. 
1:24). 

52 



The Gift That Abides. 

It is only "the new man," who can 
have fellowship with Christ in His Suf- 
ferings, and be made conformable to His 
Death (Phil, iii : 10). In all who become 
"temples of the living God," "the daily 
sacrifice" is restored; for they "die 
daily/' and in their dying they are given 
to see, that through death's working in 
them, life is brought forth in others. 
Thus the life of Christ established in 
them, enables them to lay down their 
life for others, which is a manifestation 
of the highest measure of love (Jno. 
xv:i3). 

To the traveller therein, such a path 
will at times seem very lonesome. They 
will appear to be forsaken by all friends, 
at least, so far as the ministration of any 
comfort or consolation is concerned. 
They will have seasons, when even the 
Father's face will seem to be veiled. 
They will be like unto wells, to which 
others repair with empty pitchers, and 
depart with them filled to the brim. They 
giving! giving!! GIVING!!! and yet, 

53 



The Gift That Abides. 

feeling utter emptiness in themselves. 
Seldom knowing, and but little, of any 
conscious infilling or enrichment. 

At times, such will wonder, how oth- 
ers can find any source of supply in 
them. Yea, they may even murmur 
within themselves, saying : "Is this, what 
a life of entire consecration means, to be 
always giving out, and never have any 
one come to me who can give, instead of 
take? But as they wait upon the Lord 
in the silence of all flesh, "a still, small 
Voice" is heard, saying: "Yea, even 
hereunto were you called. Give, expect- 
ing nothing in return. As I emptied 
Myself and became poor, that others 
through My poverty might be made rich, 
so you must do likewise, if you would 
follow in My steps." Then, as the light 
breaks in upon them, and they behold 
the Love and Grace that placed them in 
this ministry of feeding the spiritually 
hungry, and remember how He before 
His shearers was dumb, and opened not 
His mouth, they are truly ashamed of 
their murmuring, for they now see, in a 

54 



The Gift That Abides. 

clearer sense than ever before, that "It 
is more blessed to give, than to> receive." 
In such ministry, prayer, unceasing 
prayer, even "with groanings which can- 
not be uttered," will at times be offered 
for others, and yet the suppliant will pos- 
sess no power to either intercede, or take 
hold of God,for himself. Indeed, such are 
almost afraid to pray for themselves, 
lest they ask for that, which if granted, 
would "frustrate the grace of God," 
which they know is at work in them, 
for their perfecting. 

The desire of such souls for them- 
selves, could well and clearly be voiced 
in a single sentence : "Be it unto me, 
according to Thy word." In fact, there 
are periods of longer or shorter duration, 
when the only utterance, that takes any- 
thing like the form of personal prayer, 
is couched in the single word : "Amen !" 

While they are ready, and willing to 
assist others, no one appears to care for 
their souls. In fact, they are esteemed 
(at the very time they are suffering with 
Christ), stricken, smitten of God (Isa. 

55 



The Gift That Abides. 

liii : 4) . They are despised and rejected 
of men. Yet, strange to say, inwardly 
possess a consciousness of God's approv- 
al. They know that the Christ-life in them 
is increasing in stature, wisdom, and 
favor with God. That if they but let 
patience have her perfect work, they 
shall, eventually, be "perfect and entire, 

lacking nothing." Yea, be glorified to- 
gether with Him. 

Not many mighty, or noble, seem 
called to this close fellowship with 
Christ; but only such as humble them- 
selves, and become as little children, who 
lose their own will and life, and find 
Christ in the measure that enables them 
to walk, even as He walked. 

Only to such as have fellowship with 
Him in suffering, is the promise of reign- 
ing with Him given. Let those praise Him, 
who are given to know something of the 
priestly service of their High Priest, 
who have entered with Him into the 
Holy of Holies, between which and the 
multitude there still hangs a veil. For 
though such are shut in with God alone, 

56 



The Gift That Abides. 

pleading for others, they have neverthe- 
less a foretaste of the glory that shall 
be revealed in all, who "follow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth." 



57 



®8^rajjg®8&p®$ 




CHAPTER XIII. 

"Looking unto Jesus/' 

\\7 E are exhorted by Paul (Heb. 12: 
1, 2.) to "run with patience the 
race that is set before us. Looking unto 
Jesus the author and finisher of our 
faith." Do these words mean that we 
are to be looking to Jesus for help to run 
successfully the race? Do they imply 
that it is Jesus who begets faith in us, 
and brings it to maturity, or perfection? 
So men have taught. Let us see what 
the Spirit would teach us? 

"Ye know your calling/' said the 
Apostle. Until we clearly know, what 
we are called to, we cannot know what 
the race is, "that is set before us." 

The exhortation is addressed to those 
who have already entered into Life, and 
in whom "the first-fruits of the Spirit," 

58 



The Gift That Abides. 

have been brought forth. It is a race, 
therefore, set before believers, which if 
successfully run, secures a prize. "The 
mark of the prize/' is "the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus." What is the 
high calling? It is to become like unto 
Jesus, for his life and character, is a man- 
ifestation of that to which every regen- 
erate man and woman is called by the 
Father. "The stature of the fulness of 
Christ/' is the "measure" of "a perfect 
man/' and this is the perfection we are 
to "go on to/' and concerning which, 
the Apostle writes, when he says: "So 
run that ye may obtain." 

What then are we to be "looking unto 
Jesus" for? We are to look at his life 
of obedience to the Father's will. His 
utter self-abnegation and purity of life; 
for in him God hath given us "an ex- 
ample, that we should follow in his steps. 
Who did no sin, neither was guile found 
in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, 
reviled not again: when he suffered, he 
threatened not ; but committed himself to 
him that judgeth righteously." It is when 

59 



The Gift That Abides. 

we thus "consider him that endured such 
contradiction of sinners against himself/' 
that we are saved from being wearied 
and faint in our minds. (Heb. xii:3.) 
When we behold how Jesus "for the 
joy that was set before him endured the 
cross, despising the shame," and how in 
spite of all that stood in his way to op- 
pose and hinder him in his aim and pur- 
pose, he pressed on, gaining victory af- 
ter victory, and finally; "having spoiled 
principalities and powens," he reached 
"the joy that was set before him," even 
a seat "at the right hand of the throne 
of God;" we are inspired with new and 
tresh vigor for "the race set before us." 
This .is the true way of "looking unto 
Jesus" 

The faith which Jesus began and fin- 
ished, is "the faith of the Son of God," 
or Sonship. This is "the faith of the op- 
eration of God," which Jesus who is "the 
first born among many brethren," was 
the author of. And it was finished in 
the experience of Jesus, ere he "gave up 
the ghost." 

6a 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Gospel Message. 

VX7 HAT is called "Gospel preaching" 
in our day, is often but the setting 
forth of the dogmas and traditions of 
men. There is only "a remnant," who 
can truly unite with Paul in affirming: 
"The Gospel which was preached of me, 
is not after man, for I neither received 
it of man, neither was I taught it but 
by the revelation of Jesus Christ." We 
are all well acquainted, with what is 
now called, the "Gospel message;" but 
what was the original "Gospel message," 
preached by our Lord, and His first dis- 
ciples ? 

In Mark i. 14, 15, we read: "Jesus 
came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel 
of the Kingdom of God, and saying : The 
time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of 

61 



The Gift That Abides. 

God is at hand; repent ye, and believe 
the gospel." When He sent forth His 
disciples, this was to be the message de- 
clared : "The Kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." And through the power of their 
faith in a Kingdom at hand — within 
touch, they were enabled to cast out 
devils, heal the sick, tread upon serpents 
and scorpions, and had power over all 
the power of the enemy, so that nothing 
could by any means hurt them. Jesus 
said: "The time is fulfilled, and the 
kingdom has come." But many in these 
times are declaring, that, "the Time is 
unfulfilled, the Kingdom yet in the fu- 
ture/' 

Reading the Scriptures in the light 
of their natural understanding, they have 
fallen into the same error that Israel of 
old fell into, in interpreting the testi- 
mony of the Prophets concerning the 
coming of the Messiah ; for, understand- 
ing only "the letter," they rejected Him 
who came and fulfilled "the spirit," of 
all which the prophets had declared. 
While He moved about among them, and 

62 



The Gift That Abides. 

did the work it was promised the Mes- 
siah should perform, they recognized 
Him not, but still looked for One to 
come, and fulfil prophecy as they under- 
stood it. 

So to-day, while many are looking for 
a Kingdom to come, a few are rejoic- 
ing in the knowledge, that they have al- 
ready received that Kingdom which can- 
not be moved. The words of Jesus: 
"The kingdom of God cometh not with 
outward shew: neither shall they say, 
Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the 
kingdom of God is within you;" have 
been not only understood, but fulfilled to 
them. The query never arises in them: 
"Art thou He that should come, or do we 
look for another." The evidence of His 
Presence, is in this : He hath given sight 
to that in them, which was aforetime 
blind, has made that in them to hear, 
which was deaf, and that which was lame, 
He has made to leap like a hart. Yea, 
and made that which bore the marks of 
sin's leprosy, "like unto the flesh of a 
little child." He hath brought again 

63 



The Gift That Abides. 

to life, that which was held in the jaws 
of death. That which was once the 
kingdom of this world, has verily be- 
come the kingdom of our Lord, and of 
his Christ, for He hath overturned, and 
overturned, and overturned, the domin- 
ion and thrones of other powers, until 
they are no more, and now He whose 
right it is, reigns with undisputed sway. 
Wouldst thou know the way to enter? 
Be simple and childlike. For "whoso- 
ever shall not receive the kingdom of 
God as a little child, he shall not enter 
therein." Wouldst thou continue to abide 
therein? Keep thyself humble, for of 
the poor in spirit, it is declared : "Theirs 
is the Kingdom of Heaven." Would you 
know the token of its inception? Hear 
Him who speaks with authority: "If I 
cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then 
the kingdom of God is come unto you/' 



64 



CHAPTER XV. 

Prophet, Priest, mtd King. 

TT HE Master "left us an example that 
A we should follow his steps." He 
was called to the administration of three 
offices, each of which, were entered upon, 
according to their successive order. 
Called first, to be a Prophet, then a 
Priest, and finally, a King. As Prophet 
He "began to preach, and to say, repent ; 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
As Priest, he made intercession in be- 
half of others, and "put away sin by the 
sacrifice of himself." As King, there has 
been given unto Him, "dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people na- 
tions, and languages, should serve him: 
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away." 

65 



The Gift That Abides. 

We read: "the disciple shall be 

perfected as his Master." Hence, in the 
beginning of our religious experience, 
we enter upon our mission as a Prophet 
or preacher, for it is in this stage that 
the burden of verbal testimony is laid 
upon us, and we are instant in season, 
out of season, declaring the good news 
of salvation. Many, and remarkable, are 
the revelations and victories given us, 
while we are in this initiatory stage. 

If we make full proof of our minis- 
try, in this "high calling," we shall in 
due time, be called to enter upon the 
higher, or Priestly service. "No man 
taketh this honor upon himself, but he 
that is called of God, as was Aaron. So 
also Christ glorified not himself to be 
made an high priest, but he that said 
unto him : Thou art my Son, to-day have 
I begotten thee. As he saith also in an- 
other place : Thou art a priest for ever 
after the order of Melchisedec." "Of 
whom," says the apostle, "we have many 
things to say, and hard to be uttered, see- 
ing ye are dull of hearing." In this stage 

66 



The Gift That Abides. 

of experience, things are felt, heard, and 
seen, that may not be uttered. For the 
vail of the temple is here rent in twain, 
even from top to bottom, and we enter 
into the Holiest. Here it is that we "re- 
ceive the gift, and take upon us the fel- 
lowship of ministering to the saints/' 
and come to know "what is the fellow- 
ship of the mystery which hath been hid 
in God," even "the fellowship of His 
sufferings," and the "being made con- 
formable to His death," and are brought 
to know what Paul meant when he wrote, 
"death worketh in us, but life in you;" 
for we, too, are called, as the apostle Paul 
was, "to fill up that which is behind of 
the afflictions of Christ in our flesh, for 
His body's sake, which is the Church." 

In this Priestly experience, the decla- 
rations of Scripture concerning our 
Lord's bearing the sins of others, and 
suffering in their stead; are understood 
as never before. For unto those permit- 
ted to minister as Priests or Intercessors, 
the secret things of the Most High are 
revealed, and He showeth them His Cov- 

67 



The Gift That Abides. 

enant. We will not at this time, speak 
of the bearing of one another's burdens, 
by which we fulfil the law of Christ, or, 
the intercessory prayer made with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered, or, the be- 
ing baptized for the dead, and laying 
down of one's life for others, that are 
herein experienced; those who have not 
yet entered the Priestly service, would 
not understand us if we did, and those 
who have entered, and stand ministering 
in the Sanctuary, need not that any man 
teach them, for the anointing which they 
have received teacheth them concerning 
all things. 

If in obedience to Him who hath ap- 
pointed us to this higher office, we prove 
to "be a faithful high priest in things per- 
taining to God," having loved not our 
own life, even unto the death, but mak- 
ing ourselves of "no reputation," have 
taken upon us "the form of a servant," 
and ministered to the necessities of 
others; humbling ourselves that they 
might be exalted; then shall we in due 
time, be promoted to the highest, or 

68 



The Gift That Abides. 

Kingly position. For we follow in the 
steps of our Lord, "who for the joy that 
was set before him, endured the cross, 
despising the shame, and is set down at 
the right hand of the throne of God." 
It is a faithful saying : "If we suffer we 
shall also reign with Him." Disciple, 
hear the words of the Master: "I have 
yet many things to say unto you, but ye 
cannot bear them now." 



69 



li^ij^ji^ij^ij^ii^ii^ij^ii^ii^ii^iigi^ii^il 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The First Born. 

T N Colossians i : 15, Jesus is spoken of 
* as "the image of the invisible God, 
the first-born of every creature." To use 
this statement of the Apostle, for no 
other purpose, than to prove that Jesus 
existed as the co-eternal Son of the 
Father, before Adam was created, is to 
take "the bread of God," given to satisfy 
the hunger of the soul, and turn it into 
"a stone" of theological dogma. The 
rendering given by Rotherham, conveys 
in a clearer manner the truth which the 
Apostle seeks to express. He renders 
it : "An image of the unseen God, a first- 
born of an entire creation." 

We are told by this same Apostle in 
another place (Rom. v:4), that Adam 

70 



The Gift That Abides. 

was a figure of Him that was to come; 
and he further declares: that "the first 
man Adam was made a living soul, the 
last Adam was made a quickening spir- 
it/' The first, by reason of his disobed- 
ience, became the transmitter of death; 
the second, by reason of his perfect obed- 
ience, became the Bestower of Life. "For 
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive.'' 

As Adam was the first-born of the old 
creation or fallen nature, even so Jesus 
is the first-born of the nezv creation or 
regenerated nature. "The first man was 
of the earth earthy, the second man is 
the Lord from heaven. As is the earth- 
ly, such are they also that are earthy; 
and as is the heavenly, such are they also 
that are heavenly. And as zve have borne 
the image of the earthy, zve shall also 
bear the image of the heavenly." 

If we know no other birth but that 
which is natural, we inherit the nature 
of the first Adam, in which, God's image 
is lost. But, if we have been "born 
again" "of the Spirit/' then, we have 

7i 



The Gift That Abides. 

"put off the old man with his deeds, and 
have put on the new Man, which is re- 
newed in the image of Him that created 
him." 

It is concerning this nezv creation, in 
which the image of God is again restor- 
ed to man, that Jesus is declared to be, 
"the first-born of an entire creation." 
"For whom he did foreknow, he also 
did predestinate to be conformed to the 
image of his son, that he might be the 
first-born among many brethren." 

For "to as many as received him, to 
them gave he power to become the sons 
of God;" and all who are begotten of 
God, are "partakers of the Divine Na- 
ture" of their Father. In all his off- 
spring, his Seed remains, and they can- 
not sin, because they are born of God 
(i Jno. iii:9). All such are birth-right 
members of the "Church of the First- 
born," and as living branches of the 
true Vine, they remain united to Christ 
who is their Living Head. They are 
thus, free from "the law of sin and 
death," and "walk even as he walked," 

72 






The Gift That Abides. 

in perfect obedience to their heavenly 
Father's Will. 

Thus we see that our "high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus," is to attain "unto 
the measure of the stature of the ful- 
ness of Christ." He was made like unto 
us, that we might be made like unto 
him. To reach the prize, we must fol- 
low in his steps. He, "did no sin, 
neither was guile found in his mouth." 
He, was "put to death in the flesh, but 
quickened in the Spirit," so our "old 
man" (the old Adam nature), must be 
"crucified with him, that the body of sin 
might be destroyed," for only so, can 
we "put on the new man (the Christ na- 
ture), which after God is created in 
righteousness and true holiness." "For 
if we have been planted together in the 
likeness of his death, we shall be also 
(raised) in the likeness of his resurrec- 
tion." For, "as Christ hath suffered for 
us in the flesh," so we, if we would 
share in his glory, must "arm ourselves 
with the same mind, for he that hath 
suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from 

73 



The Gift That Abides. 

sin." Thus only, is the victory won. 
''For ... in bringing many sons 
to glory/' he made "the Captain of their 
salvation perfect through sufferings." 
As the Captain or Master was made 
perfect, by that same process must all 
be perfected, who seek to be made like 
unto him. "For every one shall be per- 
fected as his Master" was, or not at all. 
May we so bear the image of the sec- 
ond Adam, as to manifest the life of 
Jesus in our mortal flesh. For God's 
purpose (as before stated), is not, that 
Jesus should stand alone, but that he 
should be "the first-born of many breth- 
ren," who like him, shall be born of that 
"incorruptible Seed, which liveth and 
abideth forever." 



74 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Salvation of God 

HP HE salvation of man, in order for 
^ it to be as complete as his fall, 
must include a perfect restoration (mor- 
ally) to that image and likeness to God 
he stood in, before sin entered into his 
nature. If imperfect man was obliged, 
in an absolute sense, to work out his 
own salvation, then, it is true, we might 
expect at the best, but a partial or im- 
perfect deliverance from the thraldom 
of the adversary, and its accompanying 
results ; but, in as much as salvation is of 
the Lord, for beside him there is no Sav- 
iour (Isa xliii: n), and he is as infinite 
in his power, as he is unchangeable in 
his purpose, then, we have every reason 
to expect that the recovery he undertakes 
will not be partial, but a complete one. 

75 



The Gift That Abides. 

To believe that the salvation of God 
means less than a perfect cure from sin's 
disease, is to call in question the verac- 
ity, as well as proficiency of the Great 
Physician, who, knowing man to be in 
that helpless and pitiable condition, 
where the whole head is sick, and the 
whole heart faint, where from the sole 
of the foot even unto the head there is 
no soundness in him (Isa. i : 5, 6), yet, 
nevertheless, pledges himself, not only 
to bring him health and cure, but in ad- 
dition reveal unto him the abundance of 
peace, and truth (Jer. xxxiii:6). 

Multitudes who profess to believe in 
the completeness of God's salvation, 
locate the most practical portion of it, 
in the life beyond the grave, and, hence, 
excuse themselves from measuring up to 
God's present will concerning them, even 
in this evil world, which is declared to 
be, their attaining unto^a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the 
fulness of Christ." But all who 
thus relegate the fulness of redemption 
to a future state, forget that the oath 

76 



The Gift That Abides. 

which God swore to our father Abra- 
ham was : "That he would grant us, 
that we being delivered out of the hand 
of our enemies, might serve him without 
fear in holiness and righteousness be- 
fore him, all the days of our life," that is, 
before we go hence, for as it was in 
this present life that "sin abounded/' so 
here may we know the much more 
abounding grace of God. 

The darkness and confusion in the 
minds of many concerning the 
meaning, and present day possibili- 
ties of the salvation of God, is 
due in no small measure, to the 
teaching of false prophets and guides, 
who have taught the doctrines and opin- 
ions of men, instead of the pure and un- 
adulterated word of the Lord, and thus 
the counsel of God has been darkened 
or veiled, by their uttering of words 
without that knowledge which the Holy 
Spirit giveth. The idea of salvation,has to 
a great extent clustered about the thought 
of being saved from the final penalty 
for sin, rather than deliverance from the 

77 



The Gift That Abides. 

inbeing of sin, so that the real idea of 
God's salvation which involves a com- 
plete putting off of the old man and his 
deeds, and just as complete putting on 
of the new Man, who is renewed in 
knowledge, after the image of Him who 
created him (Col. iii: 9, 10), is known 
only in its fulness and as an ever pres- 
ent experience, by a "little flock." 

The true thought concerning the intent 
of God's salvation, is well expressed in 
the following words of the late John 
Pulsford: "The first and last purpose 
of God can be nothing less than to see 
his own life in countless myriads of pure- 
natured, lovely, and rejoicing children. 
The first design of our Father, is what 
Christ has brought to light. Let us re- 
joice and be glad, and suffer not the 
beautiful and consoling purpose of our 
Father to be cut off from our view by 
the clouds of our temporal existence. 
To lose sight of it, is to defraud God 
of his proper glory, and ourselves of our 
only steadfast joy." 

When the aged Simeon, holding in his 

78 



The Gift That Abides. 

arms the infant Jesus, exclaimed : "Now 
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
according to thy word: for mine eyes 
have seen thy salvation/' he is usually 
understood to be referring to Jesus as the 
one given of the Father to be the Sav- 
iour of men, and this only ; but his words 
may without any jugglery, be understood 
to express also the phase of truth we 
are seeking to call attention to, viz, 
that Jesus was to be (by his life of de- 
votement to the Father's will, and un- 
broken triumph over all sin and tempta- 
tion), an exemplification of that full and 
complete salvation, God had been seek- 
ing to bring man unto, ever since the 
fall, when the promise was given: "The 
seed of the woman, shall bruise the ser- 
pent's head." In this babe of Nazar- 
eth, the spiritually enlightened Simeon, 
saw the budding of the long cherished 
promise, and by faith, he could look 
forward through the thirty and three 
years that were to be the measure of his 
earthly life, and see him to be, "the first- 
born from among the dead/' that is, the 

79 



The Gift That Abides. 

"dead in trespasses and sins." But his 
joy was not confined, to the thought of 
this one triumphant life. He saw him to 
be, "the first-born of many brethren;" 
yea, saw in him, the head of a new race 
of men — the second Adam; and knew, 
that as in the first Adam all had tasted 
death, so in this second Adam, a new 
and living way would be opened up, by 
which man might not only become alive 
again unto God, but enter into that holy 
relationship, in which, he would become 
a tabernacle of God through the Spirit. 
That as men, had partaken of sin and 
shame, through the earthy Adam; so 
through this heavenly Adam, they might 
partake of Divine holiness and glory. 

To know the salvation of God, then, 
is to inherit the substance expressed in 
the words: "We know that the Son of 
God is come, and hath given us an under- 
standing, that we may know him that is 
true, and we are in him that is true, 
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is 
the true God, and eternal life." 

In the translation from the Syriac, the 
80 



The Gift That Abides. 

words of John as recorded in Luke iii: 
6, are rendered : "All flesh shall see the 
life of God." The life of God manifest 
in mortal flesh, is the salvation of God, 
and this life was first brought to light in 
its fulness, and set openly before men, in 
the life and character of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and he that hath the Son, has the 
life, and he who has the life, walks even 
as the Son walked, that is, does no sin, 
neither is guile found in his mouth. To 
attain to such a life as Jesus set before 
us, seems almost an impossibility, but 
let us remember that with God all things 
are possible, and that all things are pos- 
sible to him that believeth, and that to 
believe for less, is not to believe fully, in 
"The Salvation of God/' 



81 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

God, as Father and Mother. 

HP HE assurance that "God is our 
refuge and strength, a very pres- 
ent help in trouble" (Psalm xlvi: i), is 
most refreshing and inspiring, but from 
much that we read or hear in the way 
of teaching or testimony based upon 
this assurance, we are in danger of get- 
ting but a one-sided partial view of the 
manner in which God may be known as 
"a very present help," in all times of 
trouble. 

The thought that God may be found 
as a "help" in the sense of his becoming 
"strength" unto us, so that we may run 
through a troop, or leap over a wall (2 
Sam. xxii : 30) is usually so dwelt and 
enlarged upon, as to almost if not quite 
ignore the fact that God is also repre- 

82 



The Gift That Abides. 

sented to be "a very present help in 
trouble," as a place of "refuge ;" in other 
words, that the Name of the Lord is a 
strong tower, into which, the righteous 
may run (retreat), and be safe (Prov. 
xviiiiio). To take God in the latter 
sense may be more humiliating to man, 
who naturally likes to make a show of 
strength, but he who takes God for his 
"refuge," in the will of God, is as truly 
a man of faith, as he who when God be- 
comes his "strength," turns to flight the 
armies of the aliens (Heb. XK34). 

The soul abandoned to the Divine 
Will may not always know in advance, 
how God will be their helper in a threat- 
ening season of trouble, but this they are 
assured of, God will either be a source of 
"strength," by which empowering they 
shall meet and overcome the evil, or, he 
will be unto them an open "refuge," into 
which they may retire and safely hide 
till the storm be past (Psalm lvii: 1). 

Unless we are careful to- seek special 
guidance in each particular time of 
trouble, we may through ignorance en- 

83 



The Gift That Abides. 

ter into a contest, when God would have 
us find "refuge" in him, or, we may 
be seeking God as a hiding place, when 
he would have us meeting the evil in his 
"strength." He who attempts to do bat- 
tle, when God would have ftim in hid- 
ing, will find that all going forth to bat- 
tle without a "thus saith the Lord," is 
only to court defeat ; while he who shirks 
conflict, and seeks a place of repose, 
when God wills to gird him for the fray, 
will seek in vain for God as his "refuge," 
and find himself unprotected from the 
assaults of evil; for God can only be 
found to be, what he wills to be. To find 
God as a "present help," we must meet 
him in his "present" will, concerning us. 
In the Douay version, Psalm xlvi is 
said to have been written "for the hid- 
den ones," and it truly is, when rightly 
understood, a revelation of heavenly 
mysteries. For instance the words 
"refuge and strength," as applied to God, 
are not only a declaration of the two- 
fold manner in which God may be 
known as "a very present help in 

84 



The Gift That Abides. 

trouble," but they also reveal unto us 
the dual nature, or fatherjhood and 
motherhood of God. A belief in the bi- 
personality of God, is nothing new. It 
is clearly intimated in Gen. i : 26, where 
we read that God said: "Let us make 
man, in our image, and after our like- 
ness" That the words "us" and "our" 
as here used, are not the words of one 
male, to another of the same sex, but 
rather of a father to a mother, we find 
evidenced in Gen. v:i, 2, where we 
read: "In the likeness of God made he 
him, male and female created he them 

and called their name 

Adam." That such a view of God's 
two-in-oneness has been held, not only 
by Scripture seers and writers, but by 
many of the most spiritually illumined 
of all lands and ages, could be confirmed 
by numberless quotations from utter- 
ances and writings, but to do so, would 
make this chapter too lengthy, since to 
render proper justice to such a subject, 
the quotations would need to be many, 
and in some instances of considerable 

85 



The Gift That Abides. 

length. We will only say (before pro- 
ceeding to give a short explanation of 
this two-fold nature of God, shadowed 
forth in the two words, "refuge" and 
"strength"), that, inasmuch, as every- 
thing we see in the world of nature, from 
the very highest to the very lowest, bears 
witness to the existence of both a mas- 
culine and feminine property or nature, 
it ought not to be difficult to believe 
(especially in the face of the state- 
ments above quoted from Genesis), that 
the things we see on earth, are patterns 
of the things in heaven, or the world 
of spirit. 

Whatever signifies importation repre- 
sents the quality of a father, while that 
which is expressive of reception, de- 
notes a mother principle. In that which 
attracts and in gathers, the motherhood 
is figured, in that which is expulsive 
and outgoing, we see the fatherhood 
signified. 

In the thought of God as our 
"refuge," we discover a revelation of 
the Divine Maternity. For the nature 

86 



The Gift That Abides. 

and use of a "refuge," is to attract, re- 
ceive, and in gather. The expression we 
find in Isa. lxvi : 13, "As one whom his 
mother comforteth, so will I comfort 
you," is a revelation of the mother-na- 
ture of God. It is the assurance that 
God will be our "refuge," that we shall 
be gathered with the Divine arm, and 
carried in the Divine bosom (Isa. xl:n). 
Suggesting to our mind's eye, a weep- 
ing child being enclasped by a mother's 
arms, and pressed to her loving bosom, 
or a frightened child who has ran from 
the object of its fears, and is hiding its 
face in its mother's lap. The words 
found in Psa. xci concerning abiding un- 
der the shadow and wings, and being 
covered with the feathers of the Al- 
mighty, are also expressive of the Di- 
vine motherhood, as likewise are the 
words of our Lord found recorded in 
Matt, xxiii : 37, when he exclaimed : 
"How often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gath- 
reth her chickens under her wings. 
See also Isa. i: 2 f "I have nourished 

87 



The Gift That Abides. 

and brought up children," and Deut. 
xxxiii: 27, "The eternal God is thy 
refuge, and underneath are the 
everlasting arms" Some early writers 
believed that it was the maternal nature 
of the Godhead which incarnated itself 
in Jesus. T. C. Upham says on this 
line: "The language which Jesus utters 
on the cross : 'Father forgive them, for 
they know not what they do/ is the very 
language of a loving mother, who is will- 
ing to suffer and even die for her erring 
children, if she can thereby bring them 
back to their father's home and to 
truth." We trust, that we have, in a 
measure at least, made clear to the 
reader that the designation of God as 
cur "refuge/' is a declaration of the Di- 
vine motherhood. 

In the assertion that God is our 
"strength," we have given us a revela- 
tion of the fatherhood of God. For 
while a "refuge," represents the femi- 
nine quality of passivity; "strength," 
signifies the active principle, which is 
masculine. For God to be our "strength," 

88 



The Gift That Abides. 

signifies an importation of Divine en- 
ergy, which will reveal itself in an out- 
going power, that shall manifest an ex- 
pulsive force against the evil which 
troubles us. Instead of a hiding place 
and shelter, God under this figure, is re- 
vealed as the All-mighty quickener and 
energizer. Of God as "refuge/' it may 
be said: "Thou shalt hide them in the 
secret of thy presence from the pride 
of man; thou shalt keep them secretly 
in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" 
(Psa. xxx : 20). But of God as our 
"strength," we shall exclaim: "Thou 
hast girded me with strength unto the 
battle, thou hast subdued under me those 
that rose up against me" (Psa. xviii. # 39). 
As our "strength," therefore, he is re- 
vealed as "The mighty God, the ever- 
lasting Father." And he says unto us: 
"Thou shalt call me: My father" (Jer. 
iii: 19). Blessed are we if we can look 
up into his face and say: "Doubtless 
thou art our father, though Abraham be 
ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge 
us not ; thou, O Lord, art our father, our 

89 



The Gift That Abides. 

redeemer; thy name is from everlast- 
ing" (Isa. lxiii: 16). 

May we so walk in the Spirit as to 
clearly and promptly discern, in every 
season of testing just what God wills to 
be unto us, at that present moment, 
that the Divine Will, and our will, may 
be one. Thus, and so only, shall we find 
God to be unto us, "a very present help:' 



90 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Two Eyes of the Soul. 

T^ROM statements made by some 
A teachers of religion, when deal- 
ing with the question of "faith and rea- 
son/' it might be inferred that reason 
ought to be regarded as a curse rather 
than a blessing, as a hindrance instead 
of a help, as of satanic rather than Di- 
vine origin; that before we can fully 
please our heavenly Father, we must 
deny reason of all right to be heard in 
the council chamber of the soul, and be 
prepared to say every time reason dares 
to offer either caution or counsel: "Get 
thee behind me, Satan; thou art an of- 
fence unto me; for thou savourest not 
the things that be of God;" that only 
when we have perfectly succeeded in 
disregarding or silencing the voice of 

9i 



The Gift That Abides. 

reason entirely, and faith alone (which 
in such a case is mere credulity), guides 
and controls, can we hope to possess 
and exercise that kind and degree of 
faith which is well-pleasing unto God. 

We lately came across a sentence (in 
a periodical claiming to be an exponent 
of the deeper Christian experience), 
which fully expresses this one-sided 
view. The writer says : "Faith and rea- 
son are like the two compartments of 
an hour-glass ; the one can only be full, 
when the other is empty." If this state- 
ment were true, then, no man could be 
"full of faith" until he was utterly "void 
of reason" That some accept such a 
view of the relation of reason to faith, 
we are ready to allow, for while they 
profess unlimited faith in God, their 
lives are inconsistent with all reason. 

Such have not profitted by the 
Apostle's words, where he says: 
"Though I have all faith 9 so that I 
could remove mountains, and have not 
charity, I am nothing," but having look- 
ed upon "faith alone," as the one and 

92 



The Gift That Abides. 

only thing essential, have ignored that 
Scriptural injunction which says : "Be- 
side this, giving all diligence, add to your 
faith, virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; 
and to knowledge temperance; and to 
temperance patience; and to patience 
godliness; and to godliness brotherly 
kindness; and to brotherly kindness 
charity. For if these things be in you 
and abound, they make you that you 
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in 
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
But he tliat lackest these things is blind, 
and cannot see afar off." 

Because of this spiritual blindness, 
some not only make very crooked step- 
pings, but are also hindered from per- 
ceiving their many mistakes and incon- 
sistencies; and not until such have ex- 
perienced an anointing with the eye- 
salve of the Spirit, can they possibly re- 
alize, how wretched, miserable, poor, 
blind and naked they have been (regard- 
ing what in God's sight is true holi- 
ness), at the very time they (in their 
blindness) were believing themselves 

93 



The Gift That Abides. 

spiritually to be rich, increased with 
goods, and in need of nothing. 

The correct view is this : Instead of 
looking upon reason as an antagonist of 
faith, believe (with an ancient writer) 
that "True faith and reason are the soul's 
two eyes/' and that either of them can- 
not be dispensed with without sadly 
crippling the soul's power of vision and 
action. 

Such a view of the subject would lead 
us to thank our heavenly Father for the 
gift of reason, as well as for the gift of 
faith, and save us from magnifying the 
one to the exclusion of the other. For 
when faith and reason occupy their 
right and true relations, we are pos- 
sessed of a pair of balances, by which 
every subject presented for our consid- 
eration may be truly tested and proper- 
ly weighed, and we be saved from one- 
sided, ill-balanced views, and so "walk 
not as fools, but as wise," knowing that 
"a tree is, known by its fruits," and that 
man's outward life is the only true wit- 
ness to others of his holiness. 

94 



The Gift That Abides. 

If many whose vagaries, inconsist- 
encies and pretensions, have brought re- 
proach upon the cause of Christ, had 
only taken this view of faith and reason, 
they would not only have been saved 
from thinking more highly of them- 
selves than they ought to think, but 
would also have thought soberly, ac- 
cording as God had dealt to them the 
measure of faith, and so would not have 
boasted of things without their measure, 
knowing full well that "not he that com- 
mendeth himself is approved, but whom 
the Lord commendeth." 

In view of what has already been 
said, we would advise our readers to 
use both of their God-given eyes — faith 
and reason — for if, as before intimated, 
we close "the eye of reason' 9 and look 
only through "the eye of faith," neglect- 
ing to add to our faith knowledge 
through reason, our faith will end in 
mere credulity, and result in our being 
brought into a condition of mind that 
will render us liable (at any moment) 
to make shipwreck upon some one of the 

95 



The Gift That Abides. 

various sand-bars of fanaticism that are 
all around us. There is imminent dan- 
ger of getting into a condition where 
the more we believe, the more we de- 
ceive ourselves, and any one else who 
takes counsel of us, or follows in our 
steps. 

On the other hand, if we neglect to 
use the faith faculty, and seek to be 
guided by the light or eye of "reason 
alone," we are in danger of becoming 
even worse fools, by not only denying 
all revealed truth, but even going so* far 
as to doubt the very existence of God 
himself. 

What is rightly needed then, is that 
we despise not any of the gifts of God, 
who hath not only dealt unto every man 
a measure of faith, but of reason also; 
and when the two are in their own 
proper sphere, and yet acting in true 
harmony, they give a oneness of vision 
in things spiritual, even as our two nat- 
ural eyes when healthy, bring every thing 
that we look upon to> unite in one to our 
perception. 

96 



The Gift That Abides. 

Conjoined by the Lord, faith and rea- 
son are no longer twain but one, there- 
fore, what God hath joined together, let 
us not attempt to put asunder, "lest 
happily we be found even to fight 
against God." 



97 



i^ii^ii^iidi^ii^ii^ibii^iiesii^ii^ii^iidi 



CHAPTER XX. 

How Christ Enters. 

jP\OES Christ enter into the heart of 
man, as a perfectly developed life? 
In other words, is the Jesus-life in its 
full development, brought in by a sin- 
gle and simple act of faith? Is a fin- 
ished character made over to us by an 
assignment? So it might seem, from 
some of the teaching set forth by pres- 
ent-day imputationists, who represent 
Christ's coming into the soul, as simi- 
lar to a full-grown man entering into a 
room, who brings with him the fruit- 
age of all the experiences he has passed 
through, in His coming to "the stature 
of a perfect man," and imparts it to a 
mere "babe in experience ;" thus giving 
to another instantly, that, which it had 
taken him years to acquire. 

98 ' 



The Gift That Abides. 

This view, actually, sets the servant 
above his Master, it brings the disci- 
ple in a moment, and by faith alone; to 
possess that, which the Master himself 
only reached after years of suffering and 
self-abnegation. If in things spiritual, it 
were possible for a novice, thus to grasp, 
knowledge belonging to one of "full 
age," it might truly be said of them, as 
it is oft times said of too fast and for- 
ward children, "that child knows too 
much for one of its age." For "strong 
meat belongeth to them" only "that are 
of full age, even those who by reason of 
use have their senses exercised to discern 
both good and evil." But how then does 
the Christ-life enter? It enters as the 
Seed of God. It is imparted unlto the 
soul, by and through, the overshadowing 
of the Holy Spirit. It is received by the 
soul into its hidden parts, as a result of 
its desire to know ithe laving God, as the 
begetter of all that shall issue forth from 
it, or to which it shall give egression. 
When this Seed is received it is hidden 

99 

LOFC. 



The Gift That Abides. 

within the folds tif the soul by a love of 
the truth ; while the soul offers up its own 
life, that the Christ may be formed with- 
in, and become its Emmanuel, its hope of 
glory. To such in due time, "a child is 
born, a son is given." And this Life if 
truly nurtured, will increase in "wisdom 
and stature," until we "stand perfect and 
complete in all the will of God." 



ioo 










CHAPTER XXI. 

The Cltastening of the Lord. 

T)ERHAPS no other passage of Scrip- 
ture has been as frequently quoted 
for the comfort of those who have been 
in any way afflicted, as the words found 
in Heb. xii : 6, viz., "Whom the Lord 
loveth he chastened/' That thousands 
have found comfort in the thought that 
their affliction was a special evidence of 
God's love for them, is indisputable, but 
that many of those so comforted, have 
had a false conception of what this Scrip- 
ture really means, is equally apparent. 
The attitude of a soul in regard to the 
Divine Will, both before, and during 
the affliction (but especially before), 
should be known, and taken into consid- 
eration, before there is an application of 
the words quoted. If this be not done, 

101 



The Gift That Abides. 

we may not only wrest Scripture from 
its true meaning, but in our ignorance, 
misrepresent the character of the very 
Lord we seek to honor. 

Let us look into the matter a little, 
and see if we cannot discover who it is, 
that the Lord {because of His love) 
chastens. Whom do just and loving 
earthly parents chastise? The children 
who seek in all things to do only that 
which is in harmony with the parents' 
will? Surely not. Can it be possible 
then that our loving Lord lets His chas- 
tening rod fall upon those, who in full 
surrender of will seek only to do that 
which His Spirit and Word teach? Nay, 
a thousand times, nay ! A rod is for the 
back of him who knoweth "his Master's 
will and doeth it not/' it is such that 
"shall be beaten with many stripes," and 
by these disobedient ones the chastening 
ought to be understood and accepted as 
a manifestation of their heavenly Father's 
love, who does not correct for His own 
pleasure, but solely for their profit, that 
they may repent of their sin, and by be- 
102 



The Gift That Abides. 

coming wholly obedient to their heavenly 
Father's will, be made "partakers of His 
holiness/' Hence it is written to those 
who are in a lapsed condition : "As many 
as I love, I rebuke and chasten : be zeal- 
ous therefore, and repent." To the dis- 
obedient child, chastening, discipline, and 
reproof, as a rule, never seem to "be 
joyous, but grievous," and it would be 
almost impossible to convince such a 
child, that it was pure love, and not 
anger, that prompted the chastening 
from the parent. But "afterward" (in 
after years, perhaps), if they have been 
rightly "exercised thereby," they will 
then see, in the "peaceable fruit of right- 
eousness," which appears in their every- 
day life, a clear revelation, that all the 
discipline they were subjected to in the 
earlier years of their life, was an un- 
questionable and infallible proof of their 
parent's love. If any one will carefully 
examine, Heb. xii. and Rev. iii 114-19, 
they will see who it is, that the Lord 
chastens and scourges; and why He does 
it. 

103 



The Gift That Abides. 

That those who wholly follow the 
Lord, frequently undergo' long and se- 
vere trials, affecting mind, body, and 
estate, we well know; they are some- 
times "destitute, afflicted, tormented/' 
they have "trial of cruel mockings, and 
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and 
imprisonment ;" but these things come 
upon them not as chastenings from the 
Lord; for with singleness of heart and 
will, and at any cost, they have in all 
things and under all circumstances, 
sought only to please Him. Who then 
is the instigator, and afflicter of the 
Lord's obedient ones? The "Adver- 
sary," "that old Serpent, called the 
Devil, and Satan;" "the Prince of the 
power of the air, the Spirit that now 
worketh in the children of disobedi- 
ence," who either personally, or through 
"his angels," and wicked spirits, or by 
individuals on earth who are given over 
to do his bidding; ever seeks to injure, 
harass, hinder, discourage, and if pos- 
sible destroy those, who obey God only. 

But the query may arise: Why does 
104 



The Gift That Abides. 

the Lord allow Satan to thus deal, with 
those whose hearts are perfect toward 
Him? If you will read the first and sec- 
ond chapters of the Book of Job, you 
will discover that in his case, Satan de- 
clared that the work which God had 
wrought in Job (which God called his 
attention to), was all right so long as 
everything went well with Job, but if 
instead of prosperity, God sent him ad- 
versity, he would curse God to His face. 
This was a challenge, a deliberate call- 
ing into question the reliability and dur- 
ability, of God's work in man. Did God 
fear to have the genuineness of His 
work tested? Impossible. If His work 
cannot stand inflexible against all the 
tests that men and devils can subject it 
to, then the work of the Lord is not per- 
fect, then there is one more powerful 
than Him. What else can He do then, 
but allow Satan to try the "faith and 
patience of the saints?" And what will 
true saints do, but rejoice, that it is not 
only given them to believe on His name, 
but also, to suffer for His sake. While 



The Gift That Abides. 

they understand that their trial is not 
ordered by their Lord, they knozv that 
He permits it, and that in some way, if 
they prove faithful to Him, He will 
cause it to work for their good. There- 
fore, they account it all joy, when they 
fall into various trials; knowing that 
such proof of their fidelity, at last pro- 
duceth patience; and if patience have a 
full effect, they will be perfect and en- 
tire, in nothing deficient. 



106 




T 



CHAPTER XXII. 

A Hidden Life. 

HE spiritual life is of necessity a 
hidden one. "The natural man 
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
God .... neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually dis- 
cerned." Therefore, those who "live in 
the Spirit," and "walk in the Spirit," 
are to the carnally-minded, an unsolvable 
enigma. For the latter, measuring by 
the plummet of worldly wisdom, cannot 
sound the depths of real spirituality. The 
life of the truly spiritual is not only 
hidden from those who are unregenerate, 
but is also hidden from those who have 
not yet advanced beyond the first "prin- 
ciples of the doctrine of Christ." Such 
can accept all who are on a plane with 
themselves, because they measure by 
107 



The Gift That Abides. 

themselves. But when one leaves these 
"first principles," and goes "on to per- 
fection," thus entering into the spirit- 
ual realm, then these first-principle 
Christians (because they can no longer 
measure the advanced one by the rule 
and plummet of their own experience), 
doubt the reality of their attainments, 
and insist that they are either deluded 
or become self-righteous. 

But, further than this, the life of a 
spiritual man is hidden in a measure 
from himself. He knows that the Lord 
is its source and sustenance, and experi- 
ences the life-throbs of the indwelling 
spirit of Christ; but even to him there 
are "hidden mysteries," whose depth he 
has not yet fathomed. But he finds glor : 
ious satisfaction in knowing, that while 
his life is hidden, it is "hid with Christ 
in God." Therefore, it is not interiorly, 
a lonesome life. Former friends may 
separate themselves from his company; 
proffessors of (traditional) religion, 
may regard him as unsound in doctrine ; 
he may not know of one to whom he 
108 



The Gift That Abides. 

can confidently disclose the deeper in- 
ward Divine revelations, and know that 
they will be either appreciated or ac- 
cepted as true. 

But, as above said, he is not alone, for 
the Lord is with him; and He infinitely 
compensates for the loss of all other 
friends. Hidden with Christ! Lost to 
the things of time and the charms of 
the world. Yet not lost to God, but hid- 
den with Christ in Him. 



109 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

"Yea, Lord." 

" HTHEY say unto Him: yea. Lord." 
Herein lies the sum and sub- 
stance, of entire consecration to God. 
To be ready and willing to answer: 
"Yea, Lord," to every requirement of 
the Divine Will that may be made known 
to us, this, and this alone, gives reliable 
evidence of entire and unfaltering de- 
votement to God's will, and all who have 
through the operation of the Holy Spir- 
it, been brought through the fires of self- 
crucifixion, to this attitude of mind and 
will, have really and truly come to pos- 
sess the Truth, and through it have in- 
deed been set free. There is no real 
freedom of body, soul or spirit realized ; 
until the creature's will harmonizes with 
the Creator's, and there is a "Yes" ready, 
no 



The Gift That Abides. 

for every demand or draught God may 
make upon it. 

It requires but little grace to say: 
"Yes," when the call is to ease or honor ; 
but when the call is to toil and shame, 
how slow most all are, in uttering: "Yea, 
Lord." It is quite easy for many to 
say: "Yes" when called to active and 
public service, but if God says: "Be 
still, cease from all labor," the "Yes" 
seems hard to utter. Then, again, it is 
no trial for many to say: "Yes" when 
God says : "Be silent/' but when he says : 
"Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion ;" 
they seem to have lost their power of 
speech, and it is a long while, before God 
hears from them a clear and hearty: 
"Yes" It is in nowise hard to say: 
"Yea, Lord," when he sends us friends, 
but if he calls for a severance from 
friends, it is not so easy to have a 
prompt: "Yes" ready. It comes natural 
to say: "Yes," when prosperity greets us, 
but if adversity stares us in the face, it 
takes very deep consecration to say: 
"Yea, Lord," and not draw back, or 
murmur. 

in 



iippgiipipppgiigiigiigii^ipi^ii 

li^iip^ii^ii^jjp^ji^ii^bii^jj^iisiiiejii 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Hiding of His Face. 

HP HERE is a phase of experience con- 
A nected with God's perfecting pro- 
cess (and it will be known at some time, 
by all who seek to attain "unto the meas- 
ure of the stature of the fulness of 
Christ"), in which, God's presence is no 
longer felt or enjoyed. When it will 
seem as if the light of His countenance 
is completely withdrawn from us. Such 
an ordeal is all the more painful, because 
the soul cannot tell what causes it. For 
the hiding of His face we refer to, is 
not occasioned by any act of disobed- 
ience on the part of the soul thus tried, 
but happens at a time when the soul is 
(as never before), surrendered to the 
will of God, and walking up to the full 
measure of all the light it has appre- 

112 



The Gift That Abides. 

hended. In such a trial, there is no ex- 
pression that can voice the internal 
agony in a clearer manner, than the 
Master's cry: "My God, my God, why 
hast Thou forsaken me?" Only those 
who have passed through such an ordeal, 
can know anything of the questions such 
an experience awakens, or the testing of 
faith and loyalty to God that it involves. 
In fact, the tested soul itself, knows noth- 
ing of the wonderful issues which hinge 
upon the result of this trial, until it has 
pressed on through the obscurity, and 
stands again in conscious Light. 

When we have passed through the 
cloud, and stand on the other side of it, 
then, we possess "light in His Light," 
and see how "big with mercy" the cloud 
really was, and rejoice that we were en- 
abled to follow and obey the Lord, even 
when w r e could neither see or trace Him. 
Him. 

But many when they reach this trying 
ordeal, are frightened by suggestions of 
the Enemy, and turn back; and so frus- 
trate the grace of God. If such, instead 

113 



The Gift That Abides. 

of turning back, would but press stead- 
ily on, they would soon emerge from 
this phase of experience, and find them- 
selves fixed and established as never be- 
fore, in "the Life hid with Christ in 
God." 



114 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Teacher and Taught. 

f~\ NLY those who are weaned from the 
^^ milk, and drawn from the breasts, 
has God promised to teach knowledge, 
and make to understand doctrine (Isa. 
28:9). How much He will teach, and 
how clearly bring to understand, camnot 
be measured or declared in its fulness. 
The Spirit is promised to lead the obe- 
dient into all truth. I know this promise 
to be available in this day and genera- 
tion, not simply because "the Bible tells 
me so," but because I have tasted, been 
brought to see, and found the Lord very 
gracious in this respect. 

But let us not delude ourselves with 
the thought, that if we ever come to see 
light in His Light, that men will welcome 
its outshining through us; contrariwise, 

"5 



The Gift That Abides. 

the purer the truth we have to impart, 
the fewer ready listeners will we find. 
Humanity cannot easily accept him whose 
message means the undoing of their pre- 
conceived notions and opinions. 

But, we shall rejoice, nevertheless, 
even if unaccepted by men, because we 
are so consciously "accepted in the Be- 
loved." 



116 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

Faithful in Little Things. 

T T has well been said, that : "Perfection 
consists not in doing great things, 
but in doing little things well." There 
is great need that this be remembered. 
A multitude of people, are ready and 
anxious for the privilege of doing some 
conspicuous or great thing in the line 
of religious service, but when we look 
for those who without aspiration to do 
something great, are improving every 
opportunity that offers, to prove faith- 
ful in the so-called little things, how 
few the number. It must be apparent 
to everyone, who will consider the sub- 
ject but for a moment, that it takes more 
grace to be faithful in that which is 
least, than it does to do that which is 
great; for in the doing of great things, 

117 



The Gift That Abides. 

we have the encouragement and pros- 
pective applause of others, and even our 
own carnal nature, offers its assistance. 
But when we set ourselves about doing 
the little things, especially those which 
are too small for any eye but God's to 
notice, then we find ourselves, minus any 
outside praise, and the flesh standing in 
the way to resist us. Hence, this kind 
of service is only performed habitually, 
by those who are crucified to "the world, 
the flesh, and the devil." 

We read the lives of eminent saints, 
and wonder at their spiritual attainments, 
and all that they achieved. The secret 
lies in this, they were always careful to 
do the little things, and while doing 
these they were laying the foundation 
for the receiving of strength to perform 
the greater, whenever God might call for 
them. They did not wait until they 
might meet a Goliath and put him to 
death, but they were instant in season, 
and out of season, in watching for and 
destroying "the little foxes, that spoil the 
vines." Thus, beginning with the small, 

118 



The Gift That Abides. 

they finally, mastered the great. Be faith- 
ful, therefore, in every righteous duty, 
however small and insignificant it may 
appear, and then, you will find yourself, 
going on "from strength, to strength" 
in fuller measure. 



119 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

An Ascending Scale. 

T N Psalm lxxvi : I, 2, we find set forth, 
what may well be termed, an as- 
cending scale of spiritual experience. It 
reads as follows: — 

1. In Judak is God known : 

2. His name is great in Israel. 

3. In Salem, also is His tabernacle, 

4. And His dwelling place in Zion. 

Judah means : Praise. The conscious- 
ness of having received great and mani- 
fold blessings from the Lord, is sufficient 
cause for making "Praise" the dominant 
factor, or ruling characteristic of the 
first stage of spiritual experience. At 
this period God is specially "known" or 
recognized, in the things that make hap- 
py and joyful. The words: "The Lord 
hath done great things for me, whereof 

120 



The Gift That Abides. 

I am glad/' fitly express the experience 
here known. 

Israel means : Power. At the second 
stage, the greatness of the 'Tower" of 
God, as it is manifested both in our own 
experience, and that of others, through 
which exploits are performed, kingdoms 
subdued, promises obtained, the mouth 
of lions stopped, and we wax valiant in 
fight; tends to hold us to the thought 
expressed by the Psalmist: "Great is the 
Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his 
greatness is unsearchable. One gener- 
ation shall praise thy works to another, 
and shall declare thy mighty acts." 

Salem means: Peace. Reaching this 
stage, the "Peace" of God rules the 
heart, and the soul discovers more of 
God manifested in "Peace" and quiet- 
ness, than it ever recognized in "Praise" 
or "Power." It now finds its strength, 
in sitting still, and God is no longer 
looked for in "a great and strong wind," 
or "earthquake," or "fire," but in the 
"still small voice." It now worships in 
the true "Tabernacle," which the Lord 

121 



The Gift That Abides. 

pitched, and not man. Great "Peace" 
have they who love the Law declared in 
this Tabernacle in Salem, for none of its 
precepts can offend them. 

Zion means: Rock, Sunny Mount. 
Here that experience is known, in which 
the Lord becomes incarnate, or takes up 
his abode in man, and the promise is 
fulfilled : "I will dwell in them, and walk 
in them." Such souls constitute the 
Church built upon a "Rock," against 
which, the gates of hell shall not prevail. 
They dwell on the "Sunny Mount" of 
God-given fervor, light, and commun- 
ion, for the Lord God is their Sun and 
Shield, and He withholds no good thing 
from them, because they walk uprightly. 
"Praise," "Power," "Peace," and a 
"Rock" of Security, are known in unal- 
loyed purity in Zion. For the soul's as- 
pirations and desires are now no longer 
pitched to the key of earthly conceptions, 
but in consonance with the harmonious 
melody of God's perfect Law of Love 
and Light. 



122 



lipgii^iippgii^iigiigiigiigiigiipgi; 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Labor and Rest. 

TV /T AN naturally, is more willing to 
profess and be active, than he is 
to be silent and passive. But not until 
he comes to the end of all the willing, 
talking, and doings that his own crea- 
turely-activity prompts, can he find sure 
anchorage in the quiet harbor of internal 
peace, and so know an entrance into 
the true Sabbath of Rest, in which the 
Lord's injunction is fully obeyed: "Be 
still, and know that / am God." 

The speech and actions of many seem 
to make it appear, that the Most High 
is in a great measure dependent upon the 
co-operation of man, for the accomplish- 
ment or success of His fore-ordained 
plans and purposes. But those who have 
been truly redeemed from among men, 
who have ceased from their own labors, 

123 



The Gift That Abides. 

whose every thought has been brought 
into captivity, and into obedience to the 
will of Christ, these know, that, it is not 
by might or by power, that His designs 
are to be consummated, but by His Spirit 
alone; and that not one jot or tittle of 
any plan or purpose that He had in 
view when He said : "Let us make man," 
shall fail to be fully accomplished. "For 
the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and 
who shall disannul it? and His hand 
is stretched out, and who shall turn it 
back?" 

To rest in the Divine Will, as a little 
child on its mother's lap, is to be in the 
only place that is well-pleasing to Him ; 
and it is as safe a resting place, as it is 
a sure one. 

When we reach this Place of repose, 
then only, are we prepared to act as 
"workers together with God" and do ac- 
ceptably, whatever He may call for, for 
then, all our speaking, willing, and do- 
ing, will be but the outward manifesta- 
tion of His own movement within us. 
Thus, "the beloved of the Lord shall 
dwell in safety." 

THE END. 



124 



mm ( mm : mmmz®M 




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Instructions in the Divine Life of the Soul. 

This book contains under one cover : Fene- 
lon's " Christian Counsel," and "Spiritual Let- 
ters," and Madam Guyon's "Short and Easy 
Method of Prayer," and "Concise View of the 
Way to God." It was out of print for several 
years. Bound in Cloth, 348 pp. $1.00 



CATALOGUE OF CHOICE BOOKS. 

WISDOM'S ALPHABET. 

A series of concise and practical aphorisms in 
rhyme. By G. W. McCalla. Every verse begins with 
a different letter of the alphabet, and each of the 
twenty-six aphorisms have reference to some phase 
or feature of a Christly life. They are issued in a 
style which makes them suitable for gift purposes. 
Good paper, purple ink, and purple cover, with title 
in white ink. 6 cents per copy, or five for 25 cents. 

MYSTICAL SENSE OF THE SACRED 

SCRIPTURES. 

With explanations and reflections regarding the 
Inner Life. By Madam Guyon. Contains her com- 
ments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and 
Deuteronomy. 427 pp. Cloth. $2.00. 

LIFE OF DR. JOHN TAULER, 

Of Strasburg, with a summary of his doctrine (trans- 
lated from the German). In the year 1340, when 
about 50 years of age, Tauler's mind underwent a re- 
markable revolution, which resulted in his fully ac- 
cepting and becoming an influential preacher of 
mystical theology. This little book gives an inter- 
esting and instructive account of these deeper ex- 
periences of his spiritual life. 108 pp. Cloth, 40 
cents. 

PARABLE OF A PILGRIM. 

Written by Walter Hilton, A. D. 1433. Under the 
parable of a devout pilgrim, desirous of travelling 
to Jerusalem (which he interprets to mean: The 
Vision of Peace, or, State of Contemplation), he 
delivers instructions very proper and efficacious, 
touching the behavior requisite in a devout soul, 
who would pass on to such a Heavenly experience. 
40 pp. Paper, 5 cents. 



CATALOGUE OF CHOICE BOOKS. 

RISING OF THE WATERS. 

Or, Progress in Spiritual Life. A spiritual unfolding 
of Ezekiel xlvii: 1-12. In twelve chapters. By G. W. 
McCalla. 62 pp. Cloth, 30 cents. Paper, 20 cents. 

REMINISCENSES OF PORT ROYAL: 

Or, wonderful displays of Divine Grace and Powei 
in the Seventeenth Century. This book furnishes 
an interesting account of the religious experience 
of M. Angelique Arnauld, who was abbess of the 
Monastery at Port Royal. Cloth, 191 pp. 35 cents 
Paper, 20 cents. 

LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

A most true relation of a pilgrimess, M. Antonia 
Bourignon, travelling towards eternity. Written 
originally in French and faithfully translated into 
English. Reprinted verbatim, from the London edi- 
tion of 1696. 593 pp. Cloth. $2.00. 

SPIRIT OF PRAYER; 

Or, the Soul rising out of the vanity of time into 
the riches of eternity. By William Law. 96 pp. 
Paper, 20 cents. 

FOOTPRINTS OF A PILGRIM. 

An interesting record of God's gracious dealings 
with the author as she has followed on to know 
Him, in the deeper experiences of the Christian Life. 
We know of nothing that can prove more helpful to 
those who desire to "wholly follow the Lord" than 
this little book. By Mrs. A. E. Bennett. 116 pp. 
Paper, 20 cents. 

EPISTLES OF JACOB BOEHME. 

Very useful and necessary for those who read 
his writings, and full of excellent and plain instruc- 
tions how to attain to the Life of Christ. 216 pp. 
Cloth, |1.50. 



CATALOGUE OF CHOICE BOOKS. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MADAM GUYON. 

A full account, from her own pen, of her religi- 
ous life and experience. A most helpful book for 
advancing Christians. 346 pp. Cloth, $1.00. 

THREE SPIRITUAL LAWS: 

In which the properties of the dove are applied 
to the religious soul in the form of laws. By 
Francis de Sales. 32 pp. Paper, 10 cents. 

SEVEN OVERCOMINGS. 

In which the seven overcomings mentioned in the 
second and third chapters of the Book of Revela- 
tion are unfolded as having reference to the de- 
grees of attainment, or steps by which a soul is 
brought from a lower to the highest plane of spiri- 
tual experience. With other spiritual unfoldings 
of Scripture. By G. W. McCalla. 108 pp. Paper, 
20 cents. 

LIVING FLAME OF LOVE. 

This work sets forth the deep and interior experi- 
ences of the soul that is inflamed with a burning de- 
sire to be perfectly united to, and absorbed in God. 
The writings of this author were much prized by 
Madam Guyon, who frequently quotes from them in 
her spiritual instructions. It deals with the highest 
degree of perfection to which it is possible to attain 
in life, viz: Transformation in God. By John of the 
Cross. 76 pp. Paper. 15 cents. 

PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD: 

The best rule of a holy life. A series of conversa- 
tions and letters on this subject. Letters were writ- 
ten by Nicholas Herman, a mean and unlearned man, 
who, after having been a soldier and footman, was 
admitted a Lay Brother among the barefooted Car- 
melites at Paris in 1666. The conversations are sup- 
posed to have been written by M. Beaufort. Price, 
10 cents. 



CATALOGUE OF CHOICE BOOKS. 

SHORT AND VERY EASY METHOD OF 
PRAYER. 

Which all can practice with the greatest facility, 
and arrive in a short time by its means to a higher 
degree of perfection. By Madam Guyon. 80 pp 
Paper, 20 cents. 

NATURE OF SALVATION BY CHRIST: 

Showing that it is a birth of Divine Life in man, 
known long before the appearance of our Lord in that 
body that was born of the Virgin Mary, in which He 
did the Father's will, and exemplified and displayed 
the way and work of salvation, as a union of God 
and man. By Job Scott. 97 pp. Paper, 20 cents. 

BOOK OF JOB: 

With explanations and reflections regarding the 
Interior Life. By Madam Guyon. The author in her 
Preface says that the Book of Job is the most mys- 
tical of all Scripture; that there is not another book 
in the whole Bible where the interior states are more 
naturally described. 260 pp. Cloth, $1.00. 

SUPER-SENSUAL LIFE: 

A dialogue between a scholar and his master, con- 
cerning the super-sensual life, showing how the soul 
may attain to Divine hearing and vision, and what 
its childship in the natural and super-natural life 
is; and how it passeth out of nature into God. By 
Jacob Boehme. 49 pp. Paper, 15 cents. 

WAY FROM DAPxKNESS TO TRUE 
ILLUMINATION: 

A Discourse between a soul hungry and thirsty 
after the Fountain of Love — the sweet love of Christ, 
and a soul enlightened; showing which way one 
soul should seek after and comfort another, and bring 
it in its knowledge into the paths of Christ's pil- 
grimage. By Jacob Boehme. 46 pp. Paper, 15 cents. 



CATALOGUE OF CHOICE BOOKS. 

ALPHABET OF A SCHOLAR IN THE 
SCHOOL OF CHRIST. 

By Thomas A'Kempis, the author of "The Imita- 
tion of Christ." To which is added a very old and 
quaint, but practical as well as spiritual treatise, by 
another author. 32 pp. Paper, 5 cents. 

JOURNEYINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF 

ISRAEL, 

As they are found in the Book of Numbers (chap. 
xxxiii). By Thomas Bromley. Believing that the 
Scriptures have, besides the literal, a mystical sense 
founded in the letter, the author aims to unfold the 
spiritual teaching relating to the great and gradual 
work of regeneration which he finds expressed in the 
Hebrew names and historical passages of these forty- 
two journeys. 245 pp. Cloth, 60 cents. 

AN EXHORTATION. 

Relating to the working of the mystery of iniquity, 
and the mystery of godliness in this present age. By 
Isaac Pennington. Paper, 10 cents. 

SAINT'S TRAVEL TO THE LAND 
OF CANAAN. 

By R. Wilkinson. Wherein are discovered seven- 
teen false rests, short of the spiritual coming of 
Christ in the saints; together with a brief discovery 
of what the coming of Christ in the spirit is. 195 pp. 
Cloth, $1.00. 

CRUCIFIED AND QUICKENED 
CHRISTIAN. 

A discourse on Gal. ii: 19. 20. Preached before 
Oliver Cromwell, by Wm. Dell. The author evidently 
walked and preached in the power of the Spirit. This 
book has not only had a large sale, but it has been 
wonderfully inspiring and helpful to many. 36 pp. 
Paper, 10 cents. 



The Marriage in Cana 

OR 

The Water That Was Made Wine 



A Spiritual Interpretation of John ii : i-ii. 
By George w. McCau.a. 

60 pages. Cloth, 30 Cents. Paper, 30 Cents. 



Words of Commendation. 

YOUR "Marriage in Cana," pleased and 
edified me. It is just the book " Me judice" 
to place in the hands of all who are looking 
and longing for the higher experiences of a 
Christian life. There are many of this class, 
who for lack of such a bucket, are unable to 
draw from the Scriptures those living waters, 
that will satisfy their newly awakened desires 
for holiness. 

The water of the literal sense, must be turn- 
ed into the wine of the spiritual sense, for all 
who are thus quickened in their affections. 
Your ministrations in thus turning the water- 
truths into wine have been of inestimable value 
to me. B. P. W. 

To say that I have been pleased in the read- 
ing of your spiritual interpretation of John ii : 
i-ii, would be a very feeble expression of my 
appreciation of that which has been opened up 
unto you by the Spirit — the Revealer and Inter- 
preter, of the Scriptures. 

I am amazed, as I read what you have writ- 
ten, at the infinite fulness and many-sidedness 
(if I may use the word), of the Scriptures. I 
thank you for the rich feast you have furnished 
us, in the unfolding of this ''Marriage in Cana." 

— W. S. G. 



CONTENTS OF THE BOOK 



Chapter I. Introduction. 

Chapter II. The third day. There was 
a marriage. In Can a of Galilee. The mother 
of Jesus was there. 

Chapter III. Both Jesus was called and 
his disciples to the marriage. When they wanted 
wine. The mother of Jesus saith unto him: 
They have no wine. Woman, what have I to 
do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. 

Chapter IV. His mother saith unto the 
servants. Whatsoever he saith unto you do 
it. There was set there six waterpots of stone. 
The manner of the purifying of the Jews. Con- 
taining two or three firkins apiece. Fill the 
waterpots with water. They filled them up to 
the brim. 

Chapter V. Draw out now. The governor 
of the feast. The ruler of the feast. The water 
that was made wine. Knew not whence it 
was. The governor of the feast called the 
bridegroom. Ev^ry man at the beginning doth 
set forth good wine. But thou hast kept the 
good wine until now. The beginning of mira- 
cles. Manifested forth his glory. 



Each sentence above mentioned, spiritually unfolded. 



THE 

Rising ofthe Waters 

OR 

Progress in Spiritual Life 

Spiritual Unfolding of Eze.xlvii: 1-12 

By George W. McCalla 

64 Pages. Cloth, 30 Cents. Paper, 20 Cents. 

Words of Commendation. 

Your book " Rising of the Waters," is a con- 
tinual feast to me. Sure enough, there is but 
"one Word," but many unfoldings of that Word. 

Your book is a wonderful inspiration, and 
is food for my soul. I read and re-read it. Thank 
God for the light of the true overcomers. 

If I had the means, I would at once order a 
number of copies for distribution among those 
who are awakening from the "deep sleep" ofthe 
carnal self-hood, and are hungering and thirsting 
for the Water of Life, but know not that what 
they long for, is the hidden stream of the "inter- 
nal sense" of the Bible. I know nothing that 
would be read with more avidity and profit by the 
newly awakened man. 

"Rising ofthe Waters," is a wonderful un- 
veiling of Truth, and turns us from the external 
to the light within, where the true Christ is 
found. The Spirit came upon me while I was 
reading it, and revealed the mystery hidden in 
it, which nothing but the quickening Spirit 
could make known. 



Your book reveals the hidden mysteries of 
God, sealed up in his Word, which can only be 
made known to the elect. 

I praise His name, that he sent me his guide 
through the wonderful revelations of this book, 
and your " Seven Overcomings," and thank him 
because he has brought me through the meas- 
urement of the waters, to rivers to swim in. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter I. Introductory. 
Chapter II. Beholding of the Waters 
Chapter III. Ankle-deep Waters. 
Chapter IV. Knee-deep Waters. 
Chapter V. Waters to the Loins. 
Chapter VI. Waters to Swim in. 
Chapter VII. Beholding of the Trees 
Chapter VIII. The Dead Sea Healed 
Chapter IX. A River of Life. 
Chapter X. Fish in Abundance. 
Chapter XI. Given to Salt. 
Chapter XII. Trees and Their Fruit 



Words of Faith. 

A MONTHLY JOURNAL, 
FOR THE UNFOLDING OF SPIRITUAL 

IiipE RJilD lilGHT. 



PRICK, 50 CENTS A YEAR, 



Tlie unfolding of spiritual Life and 
Light, is its sole aim and purpose. Be= 
ing brought to see, that it is not the 
form of words, or statement of opinions 
with which the creed=makers of this 
and other ages have clothed the Truth 
that is to be sought after, if one -would 
walk "as seeing Him -who is in visible,' ' 
but rather a coming under the enlight- 
ening influence of that Spirit of Truth, 
which maketh " wise unto salvation, ' ' 
all who tarry for the anointing, it seeks 
to impart such instruction as may be 
helpful to all sincere souls whatever be 
their nation or creed, who earnestly de= 
sire to enter into "the secret place of 
the Most High," and know Christ form- 
ed within as their hope of glory. 

SAMPLE COPY, FREE. 
Address: G. W. Mc CALL A, Editor and Publisher, 

Philadelphia, Pena'a. 



JUL 10 1905 



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